Bethan’s Rock, Poole Museum (Image: Poole Museum)
A stone on display in Poole Museum has gone viral for the second time – simply for being wholesome.
“Bethan’s rock” was first displayed in the museum in 2019, and gained 112,000 upvotes when it was posted to Reddit in October 2021.
However, it has since gained an even larger following on the Wholesome Meets The Internet Facebook page, where it gained 189,000 likes in ten days.
The rock, which appears to be an ordinary small grey stone, was put on display by the museum alongside a sign that read: “On 23rd August 2019, Bethan visited Poole Museum.
“After talking with her mum about what museums do, Bethan decided she wanted to donate her ‘most precious’ rock to the museum.
“She asked that we put it behind glass and look after it, so that everyone could see and enjoy it.”
Comments on the two viral posts commend Poole Museum for displaying the rock and thanked Bethan for sharing her favourite rock with the world.
Speaking about the rock’s online fame, Poole Museum manager Rebecca Rossiter told Dorset Live: “We’re all very fond of Bethan’s rock at Poole Museum as well – it is starting to become a bit legendary, both among staff and visitors. So [it’s] interesting to see that it has taken off again.
“It’s just engaged people so much, particularly online.
“Maybe it’s just the fact that it’s a very personal thing and a very personal story, and she was so keen to give it to us. It’s really lovely object to have.”
Although the museum is home to parts of shipwrecks and even an Iron Age log boat with its own Twitter account (with over 1,400 followers), Bethan’s Rock remains their most famous object.
When asked why such an unassuming rock has gained such a large fan following, Ms Rossiter said: “I wonder if that’s partly why it’s so popular, as to the untrained eye it doesn’t look like anything hugely special, but it obviously meant so much to her. I think people like that.
Bethan’s Rock at Poole Museum is an internet sensation (Image: Poole Museum)
“If you did just happen to see that on a beach somewhere, or at a museum, I’m not sure it would necessarily grab your attention. But just something about the fact that it meant so much to this one little girl seems to have really captured people’s interest.”
Little is known about Bethan, but museum staff member Charlie Lord, who took in the rock on the day Bethan donated it, remembers that she used to visit the museum from time to time with her mum.
Poole Museum has recently received Heritage Lottery funding and will close for redevelopment in autumn later this year. However, when it reopens in 2024 the rock will be prominently displayed in a timeline case, as it shows the importance of a digital audience in the modern age.
Ms Rossiter said: “I think the other important thing is we do want to be accessible and welcoming to local families and residents in particular.
“For some people, museums might not be somewhere that they would want to go, or are even aware of, so it really adds to that ethos of trying to break down some of those barriers.
“It just talks to you on a very human level, and the label that was written for it is also accessible. It’s not trying to use language that alienates anyone, or that you have to be a specialist to understand.”