Victor Noir was just 21 years old when a cousin of Napoleon III shot and killed him.
It was 1870, he was a journalist, and his death set Paris ablaze, turning him into a martyr of the revolution. That is why the sculptor Jules Dalou made a bronze statue of him lying on the ground, just as they found him: hat fallen off, lips slightly parted, his body still marked by the impact. No one imagined that this realism would include, for no known reason, a pronounced bulge in his crotch.
Over the years, a myth arose that has nothing to do with the revolution: touching that area brings fertility. Today, women from all over the world travel to Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris to rub his crotch, kiss his lips, and touch his right foot if they are seeking a child, or his left if they dream of twins. The bronze is polished and shiny precisely there, while the rest of the statue remains green from the passage of time.
More than 3 million people visit the cemetery each year. Many never knew who Victor Noir was in life — but they know exactly which part of his statue to touch.
