It seems that every news outlet is talking about COVID-19 these days. Now for something completely different — silly walks.
Just what is a silly walk? Reminiscent of the iconic Monty Python sketch from 1970 — a silly walk is an act of performing a walk in a silly manner.
It’s typically done by thrusting your left knee upward in a forward aerial half turn towards your chest, then bending your right leg, rounding your back, and bringing your chest into your knee, then slamming your left foot to the ground allowing your body to follow…
Or simply, walking unseriously.
Ottawa got the ball rolling last April by posting an official sign with three small John Cleese’s performing a silly walk while also safely socially distancing from each other. The same sign was reposted on the Official Monty Python Instagram page the very next day, and John Cleese also Tweeted this:
In a park in Ottawa ( Probably Canada, although there’s no ’Sorry’ at the end ) pic.twitter.com/J6Hp48eYzh
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) April 9, 2020
On April 23, an Instagram user posted about a sign they put up on their lawn which says, “You have now entered the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Silly Walks. Commence silly walking immediately.”
The sign also mentions that “anyone who does a silly walk might have their walk posted on Instagram,” and that “we are all in this together.”
While that was the first appearance of the sign, it has inspired Monty Python fans across the world (mostly North America) to put up their own signs and record the silliest of walks that only the human mind can comprehend.
On June 27, one of our local community members put up her own sign outside her house, prompting KW to take part in this hilarious trend. TCE spoke to the creator of the sign, and the Kitchener Ministry of Silly Walks Instagram page about what prompted this idea.
“I just thought it was a really neat idea, and I have a bored kid so I thought it would be a fun project for us to do together,” the anonymous creator of the Patricia Ave. silly walk sign said.
This was the same reasoning behind the dozens of others who have put up their own signs. Being in quarantine has caused a massive amount of pent up silliness in a lot of people, and these signs have been the perfect way to raise spirits.
“I’ve gotten a few messages from people saying that they love the idea and think it’s great, and the hope is just to brighten people’s days a little bit,” our local sign creator said.
The Kitchener community member who put up the sign on Patricia Ave. also set up a camera to record the silly walks in action, but has been finding it difficult to know when people have come by to show off their silly walks.
“If people message us to let us know they went by, then I can find their video pretty easily. And we’ve had quite a few people go by so far,” she said.
If you have a walk that you think is particularly silly, go to Patricia Ave. at Talbot St. in Kitchener and try it out. You can also watch videos of some local silly walks on the Instagram page. Message them to let them know you’ve stopped by.
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