Mental Floss

The Quick 10: 10 Alterations to the Hollywood Sign

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Getty | Getty

What's a girl to do for fun after the Grammys and all of the post-Grammy parties are over? Well, if you're Ke$ha, you round up a limo, a group of friends, some sheets and some spray paint and you go deface the Hollywood sign (maybe. We'll get to that in a second). Even though the sign is a bit challenging (and illegal) to get to, it hasn't stopped various groups of people from altering it for publicity stunts or political purposes. Check out Ke$ha's maybe-defacement and nine others:

1. Ke$hawood. Although there's video of Ke$ha and her friends doing their thing, most blogs are now reporting that it's an edited video and there's no way that they managed this stunt. Even the Hollywood Sign Trust says it didn't happen, as far as they can tell. You can read about all of the reasons it's a fake video over at Entertainment Weekly, but you can look and see for yourself:

2. Holywood. When Pope John Paul II visited L.A. in 1987, taking over Dodger Stadium to celebrate mass, someone covered up one of the "˜L's, declaring that Hollywood had gone holy... if only for the weekend.

3. Ollywood. Earlier that year, a similar simple modification was made when the "˜H' was hidden. The reason? Oliver North and the Iran-Contra hearings.

4. Jolly Good. When Virgin Atlantic started a non-stop flight from L.A. to London in 2000, the sign proclaimed "Jolly Good" to mark the occasion.

5. Holli Would. Well, it still said "Hollywood," but to promote the 1992 movie Cool World and its main character, Holli Would (voiced by Kim Basinger), a giant Holli was plopped on top of the letter "D." Ugh.

6. Hollyweed. In January, 1976, the California state law on marijuana was loosened, prompting supporters (or was it detractors?) to "rename" the city.

CALTECH
CALTECH

8. Perotwood. During Ross Perot's presidential bids in 1992 and 1996, the sign was changed to support him.

9. Go UCLA. USC and UCLA pull out all of the prank stops when their football teams play each other. This included 1993, when Bruins fans showed their support by risking life and limb to drape the sign.

10. Raffeysod. Although the Hollywood Sign website claims the meaning of this mysterious message is unknown, it's believed that a band named "The Raffeys" were trying to make people talk about them and drum up a little publicity in 1985. Hey, it worked for Ke$ha.

So, what do you guys think about the video? Fake, right?