Popular Mechanics magazine has published a detailed explainer on how to topple a “racist” statue without anyone getting hurt.
The magazine, which was first published in 1902, has a circulation of 1.2 million and is now actively encouraging vandalism and criminal acts.
“Should you happen to find yourself near a statue that you decide you no longer like, we asked scientists for the best, safest ways to bring it to the ground without anyone getting hurt—except, of course, for the inanimate racist who’s been dead for a century anyway,” the article states.
The author goes on to explain the materials and weights of different types of statues and the amount of force needed to pull them down. They also detail how many people you will need, materials to use, and other methods including the use of chemicals.
“The melting point of the hypothetical bronze statue is 1,742 degrees Fahrenheit, but even if you come across a racist cast in copper (melting point: 1,984 degrees), you can still easily melt both with thermite, as it burns at 2,500 degrees,” the author explained while urging people to use chemicals to destroy history. “While thermite might burn nearly half as hot as the sun, it isn’t explosive.”
While Popular Mechanics added a disclaimer to save themselves from legal liability, their intention is very clear.
The disclaimer states:
⚠️This article is being presented only to describe the physics and mechanics of removing statues, in light of national attention being drawn to the removal of Confederate monuments and statues. Popular Mechanics is not encouraging anyone to remove any statues. There is a risk of injury whenever you try to remove or destroy a statue, even if you were to apply information presented in this article.
However, the article itself begins with the subheading:
“Bring that sucker down without anyone getting hurt.”
While discussing the use of liquid nitrogen to potentially make the vandalism easier, the author wrote that there is a “fun bonus” in using it, because the combination of the chemical and the hole a rioter would drill would cause a high pitched squeal, and “one could imagine it sounding something like the sound a confederate general would make if their feet were on fire.”
