Just another naked day in Times Square....

SUBMITTED BY: Erik Paulsen   LOCATION: Times Square, New York City (2012)

When posing for a Tacky Tourist Photo, it is usually customary to embrace the quirky statue or mascot as if you are best friends.

Yet, there is something rather skeevy about getting intimate with a Naked Cowboy you just met.

Enter the brilliance of Erik, who pensively looks to the heavens, so immersed in thought that he almost doesn’t even notice the scantily-clad gent in front of the Marriott.  There’s now a proven method to pose with people when getting too close would be embarrassing or downright unhygienic.

On a side note, TTP has been at the forefront of insightful Naked Cowboy coverage rivaling the New York Post, the NY Daily News and Gawker. We’ve faithfully covered the Naked Cowboy for President campaign, the legal battle with the Naked Cowgirl and her common bond with Lady Gaga.

We’re depending on Erik to covertly capture the next chapter.

(Erik Paulsen, not to be confused with the Minnesota Congressman, is a sports video editor and photojournalist who has covered the Stanley Cup and the Tour de France. He also is a militant vegan.)

INTERCHANGEABLE ANGELS -- The original "Charlie's Angels" cast went through babe detectives like tissues: Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack, and Tanya Roberts. Most of the turnover happened with the blondes. The tradition continues.....

SUBMITTED BY: Barrie Mirman   LOCATION: Cannes, France (2011)

Once a year, you can find movie stars like Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Lui gallivanting around Cannes during the film festival. The rest of the year you can BE them.

(On special assignment from TTP, Barrie Mirman recently crashed a wedding on the riverbanks of Vietnam).

Amidst the statues of all your favorite Mongolian military heroes are Paul, John, George and Ringo!

SUBMITTED BY: Sharon McHale  LOCATION: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (2011)

Any run-of-the-mill rock star can get immortalized at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, but how impressive is it to have a shrine in downtown Ulaanbaatar four decades after last topping the Billboard charts?

Mongolia’s Beatles monument is a tribute to the role that the mopheads played in bringing democracy to the nation, according to Minister of Parliament E. Bat-Uul.

Of course, the cast of Glee recently kicked the Beatles’ butts on the all-time music charts — they now hold the record for the most appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 list, also beating out Elvis Presley.

How long before Lea Michelle gets her own statue at the Ulaanbaatar Mall?

(Imagine there’s no tourism… TTP also recently discovered a John Lennon shrine in Havana, Cuba, which apparently still prefers Soviet-era surnames — Lennongrad? — over Starr, McCartney and Harrison.)

Something missing, Miss Monroe? (Click photo for larger image).

SUBMITTED BY: Leigh Hanlon   LOCATION: Chicago, Illinois (2011)

Will the keywords “Marilyn Monroe” and “topless” send Tacky Tourist Photos’ web traffic through the stratosphere?

Maybe if this were still the year 1962.

(Photographer Leigh Hanlon, aka “The Chicago Cowboy,” blogs at ChicagoScope.com. Curious about this half-finished statue? Check out our Cheeky Controversy post about Chicago’s kitschiest tourist attraction).

Whattya starin' at? Tourists feel no need for subtlety at Marilyn Monroe's famous "Seven Year Itch" scene recreated on Chicago's Magnificent Mile. (Photo credit: Michael Yen -- click pic for close-up view)

SUBMITTED BY: Various Artists   LOCATION: Chicago, Illinois (2011)

Is the 26-foot tribute to Marilyn Monroe a magnet for pop culture perverts or just harmless fun?

Our Tacky Tourist correspondents report there is plenty of evidence to support both scenarios.

“Although the sculpture itself isn’t anything groundbreaking and it would probably be better located in New York, it definitely causes a reaction,” says photographer Michael Yen, who analyzes tourists on a scale of Coy-to-Crude on his Facebook page. “I like the statue because it does that.”

“It was interesting to see people boldly go up and take it all in or decide to stay in front of the statue and not take a peek — and then perhaps go and take a peek anyway,” he adds.

Yen reports that he saw some fellow visitors pretending to lick Marilyn’s feet, noting it “gives people a free pass to act however they want.”

Some gregarious tourists expressed just pure joy about the giant fiberglass actress invading the Windy City.

Photo by Dan Eidsmoe (Click for larger image)

Others, like Casual Briefcase Guy, acted like Marilyn’s legs were just another thing to lean on, like a lamp post or telephone pole.

Photo by Fredy Peralta (Click for larger image).

Nothing bonds a couple closer together than wrapping around a gorgeous calf.

Photo by Ewa Malcher (Click for larger image)

And if you’ve been married for a really long time, you have to look down and pretend not to notice things like this.

Photo by Dan Eidsmoe (Click for larger image)

Photographer Dan Eidsmoe says he doesn’t think Marilyn’s sex appeal stretches well at 26 feet. “The attraction will wear off rather quickly,” he predicts. “The face and hair of the statue are very plastic looking.  Have you ever eaten at a Big Boy restaurant?”

Plastic or not, foot fetishists will be very disappointed by the World’s Grimiest Pedicure. As an aside, check out the diamond-studded flip-flops on the three-legged woman to the right of this kid’s Crocs.

Photo by John Picken (Click for larger image).

(Marilyn Monroe is supposed to be towering over Chicago until the spring of 2012. She replaces the American Gothic couple in Tribune Towers Plaza.)

Coming to America in Style! (Click on the picture to learn more about the real Ellis Island experience)

SUBMITTED BY: Peggy Dillon and Adrienne Lopes   LOCATION: Ellis Island, New York (2010)

A brilliant exercise in historical product placement, Mattel and Ellis Island have teamed up to let you explore your ethnic heritage through cocktail dresses and itsy bitsy pairs of shoes.

“Wouldn’t Barbie have had a pink boat, complete with a hair salon and huge closet for her massive wardrobe?”  Peggy asks rhetorically.

When it comes to crossing the Atlantic on a steamship, it’s the only way to travel!

Explore Your Barbie Heritage: Dolls of the World

(Click here to buy your very own Ellis Island Barbie. Tacky Tourist Photos is not affiliated with Mattel or Barbie, but we strongly believe in the product.)

Is there ANY other reason to visit Philly?

SUBMITTED BY: Darren Garnick   LOCATION: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2010)

Everyone knows how to retrace the historical steps of Sylvester Stallone. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is a lot more accessible to tourists than the snowbanks of Siberia — if you have your heart set on recreating Rocky IV.

But did you know that you can run the Rocky Steps TWICE?  Oh yes, you can also dart up the stairs of the Philly Mini Golf Balboa tribute in Franklin Square. You can make it to the top there in about three giant leaps.

(Tacky Tourist Photos curator Darren Garnick ranks the Rocky movies in this order: 4, 3, 1, 2, and 6 — with 5 not even deserving a roster spot on Netflix).

Hula skirts and Hawaiian leis are staples of the tacky tourist wardrobe.

Looks like Buzz Lightyear, Jessie and Woody are trying to blend in as tacky tourists on their latest Toy Story adventure.

Coming soon to your child’s playroom:  A Leaning Tower of Pisa for Barbie to hold up?

Prince William and Princess Kate cowboy up in Calgary (source: CBC).

Check out today’s CBC headline:

“Prince William says Canada ‘far exceeded’ expectations“

Translation: “I thought this place was going to be kinda lame.”

Canada can do far better for a celebrity tourist endorsement.

Meanwhile, Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton each received a ceremonial white cowboy hat upon entering the city of Calgary — a tradition for visiting dignitaries.  Other celebrities asked to play dress-up have included President George Herbert Walker Bush, William Shatner and the Dalai Lama.

Princess Kate Middleton meets Anne of Green Gables on Prince Edward Island (Source: Associated Press)

According to the CBC, Kate Middleton revealed herself to be a huge fan of Canadian folk hero Anne of Green Gables during the royal vacation to Prince Edward Island.

But how big of a fan could she possibly be?

If Princess Kate were truly die-hard, she would have picked up one of the braided hats that are sold at virtually every PEI souvenir shop.

Or she would have fully immersed herself in the character at the Cavendish Figurine costume booth at the Confederation Bridge like these two Japanese fans.

Maybe next time, Kate.