Selfie Sticks banned at world’s largest museum and research complex

selfie stick

Selfie Sticks first became popular in Asia. The sight of Chinese, Korean and Japanese tourists whipping out their extendable monopods and posing at their smartphones in front of attractions such as France’s Eiffel Tower or Turkey’s Blue Mosque became the norm.

Selfie Sticks have now gone mainstream, hitting large department stores like Nordstrom in the US. According to The New York Post, during the 2014 holiday season, a US company that supplies Selfie Sticks to Nordstrom recorded a 3,000 percent growth in sales in November alone.

But some of us don’t really see the allure of the Selfie Stick, especially the Smithsonian. The world’s largest museum and research complex, with 19 museums and 9 research centers has banned the Selfie Stick from their premises.

According to a statement from the Smithsonian:

 

For the safety of our visitors and collections, the Smithsonian prohibits the use of tripods or monopods in our museums and gardens. Effective today, March 3, monopod selfie sticks are included in this policy.

This is a preventive measure to protect visitors and objects, especially during crowded conditions.

We encourage museum visitors to take selfies and share their experiences—and leave the selfie sticks in their bags.

 

Guess the 25 million Smithsonian annual visitors will have to find another way to take some selfies.

 

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