Don’t mind me, I’m just walking my…… anteater?

Well, some of us, like Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali, apparently aren’t big dog people.

This photo, taken in 1969, shows artist Salvador Dali taking a nice stroll through the streets of Paris with his pet anteater by his side. He was looking stylish and definitely caught everyone’s eye. Maybe this is a hot take, but it seems very peculiar to see an anteater on a leash roaming the streets like a domesticated dog. 

Maybe Salvador was allergic to dogs… or maybe anteaters make the best pet. Maybe he wanted the crowd’s attention or maybe there’s a deeper symbolism to his pet choices.

Salvador Dali even brought an anteater with him as a special guest on The Dick Cavett Show. But the real question here is not why does he have an anteater – but where did he get one?

In addition to his odd choice of anteaters as pets, here are five interesting facts you didn’t know about Salvador Dali:

1. He was both born and died in the same place – Figueres, Spain
2. Salvador’s father and older brother were also named Salvador. His brother had died nine months before Salvador was born. When his parents took him to visit his late brother’s grave, they told him he was the reincarnation of his brother. He clung to this concept and his brother was a major influence in his work.
3. Due to his behavior and creativity, Salvador was once asked if he did drugs to which he replied no. But followed up with the statement of “I am drugs.” 
4. When he went out to dinner with a big group of friends, Salvador would offer to pick up the tab. To pay the bill he would write a check out to the restaurant, but would also include a quick doodle on the back of the check. This was because he knew that the restaurant wouldn’t cash the check with his drawing on the back because his artwork was far too valuable. Therefore, it was the perfect plan to get out of paying the bill and spreading your artwork.
5. You can actually buy tickets to a 90-minute digital metaverse experience of Salvador Dali’s work here.

Into art history? Check out this video of Picasso painting!

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