Complex Numbers

In Spite Of

Few things in life feel better than nuclear revenge. So today's link is about the lengths (or heights) some people will go to for it.

38 Things Done Out of Spite  

I mean, sure, it's nice to be able to forgive sometimes, too. But other times, you need to drive the point home that you're not a pushover.

Most of these are spite houses / fences, but there are a few other cases of extreme -- and mostly legal and nondestructive -- payback as well. I won't go through all of them; you'll have to check out the link.

4. Stuart Semple's Black 3.0

This one's one of my favorites, mostly because I find feuds in the art world extremely amusing, and also because I want an outfit, preferably including a trenchcoat, made of the blackest black that ever blacked.

The color war began when artist Sir Anish Kapoor acquired the exclusive rights to the world’s blackest substance at the time, Vantablack—and refused to share it with the artistic community.

By all accounts, Kapoor acts like a massive douche. He's the artist (and I'm not denying he's a talented artist) responsible for The Bean   in Chicago. Since he's apparently gotten used to people calling it The Bean (or maybe he just backed off on public hatred of the name so people would leave him alone), we'll have to come up with another annoying nickname for it.

Enter British artist Stuart Semple, who, angered at Kapoor’s selfishness, created the “pinkest pink” and made it available for anyone to use … except Kapoor. Purchasers were obliged to agree to a statement that read: “By adding this product to your cart you confirm that you are not Anish Kapoor, you are in no way affiliated to Anish Kapoor, you are not purchasing this item on behalf of Anish Kapoor or an associate of Anish Kapoor. To the best of your knowledge, information and belief this paint will not make its way into the hands of Anish Kapoor.”

Like I said. Art feuds.

18. A Spiteful Christmas Display

When you're on the front lines in the War on Christmas...

19. The Hollensbury Spite House

Constructed in 1830, what’s now known as the Hollensbury Spite House is just 7 feet wide and contains 350 square feet in its two stories, or “about as much space as a large outdoor billboard,” according to the Washington Post.

I haven't seen this particular building, but 350 square feet in Alexandria? It's probably worth about 3 million dollars.

22. Castle of Spite

For when you're extremely wealthy AND hostile.

Anyway, most of these are interesting for one reason or another -- family drama, libertarians vs. City Hall, thwarted romance... all the stuff worthy of stories.

I guess that to err is human, to forgive is divine, and to create something out of spite is deeply satisfying.