5 things you didn't know about 'Touchdown Jesus'

In honor of the lightning strike's 10 year anniversary

This week marks the 10 year anniversary of the fire that destroyed what had become known as “Touchdown Jesus.” The large bust, located at Solid Rock Church on Interstate 75 near Cincinnati, was a popular landmark famous for its grand size and prominent hand gesture.

In June 2010, the statue was destroyed after being struck by lightning, and the church built and unveiled a replacement statue in 2012. The new full-body statue, designed with a slightly different hand gesture, has been given the nicknames "Hug Me Jesus" and "5 Dollar Footlong Jesus," but most Ohio residents will always remember the original "Touchdown Jesus."

In honor of the five year anniversary, here are 5 things you probably didn’t know about the statues:

 1. Other popular nicknames for "Touchdown Jesus" include "Big J," "Big Butter Jesus," and "Super Jesus."

2. The real name of the "Touchdown Jesus" statue, given by leaders of the Solid Rock Church, was "King of Kings."

3. The real name of the "Hug Me Jesus" or "5 Dollar Footlong Jesus" statue is "Lux Mundi," which means "light of the world" in Latin.

4. "Touchdown Jesus" was featured on an early episode of the MTV show "Rob and Big," a reality show centered around celebrity Rob Dyrdek. Dyrdek is originally from Kettering, Ohio, and he saw the statue for the first time while doing an episode about visiting his home state.

5. A comedian who goes by the stage name Heywood Banks wrote a song about the original statue called "Big Butter Jesus."  The song continuously comments on the bust's unique gesture, with lyrics like "Well you see him from the chest up, like he's about to do a backflip, like he scored a touchdown, or maybe melting or about to drown." Banks primarily practices musical comedy and is centered in Michigan.

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