The Colosseum in Rome has endured for millenniums, but the venerable arena had little defense against two rogue twenty-something Americans. The young California women, 21 and 25, sneaked away from their tour group over the weekend and began to carve their names in the Colosseum wall with a coin, The Guardian reports. Police apprehended the women after each had carved a single initial.
Why would these American women desecrate an international heritage site on another country’s soil? They wanted a selfie. Apparently to prove to their friends that they were the prototypical ugly Americans. (Look everybody, we’re part of history!) The ugly American stereotype can offer this in its defense, however: last year a Russian also vandalized the site, along with an Australian, a Brazilian and a Canadian.