Scottish Woman Builds Smurf Shrine

The Daily Beast would like to present Brian Bell of Ayrshire, Scotland, with the award for Most Patient, Accepting Husband of the Year for not only sticking by his Smurf-obsessed wife’s side, but allowing her to convert a room in their house into a shrine for the £20,000 worth of little blue figurines and memorabilia she’s collected in the past 30 years. Bell’s wife, Karen, is a museum curator and bona fide Smurf-aholic. She got her first Smurf toy at age 6 and now has 4,482. “I know he still thinks it’s a bit strange, but I think he’s quite impressed, too,” says Bell of her husband’s reaction to the Smurf sanctuary. “And it’s great that he’s finally agreed to let me have the spare room for my collection—although he won’t let me paint it blue.”