Popular Mechanics publishes how-to guide to take down statues ‘without anyone getting hurt’

Popular Mechanics magazine published an instruction piece on Tuesday that tells readers how to take down statues “without anyone getting hurt.”

The guide from the magazine comes as statues are being taken down in several cities across the country amid protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.

Statues that have been taken down include several Confederate figures, former President Thomas Jefferson and Christopher Columbus.

“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,” writer James Stout begins.

Stout also taps mechanical engineer Scott Holland to provide explicit details of how to safely bring down a statue that includes assembling a team of up to 70 friends for the job.

“To break the statue from its base, split into two teams on either side and work in a back-and-forth motion. Most statues are attached to the base by 2 to 3 feet of rebar, so you’ll actually be breaking it at the bronze above the rebar—not the rebar itself,” Holland tells Stout.

“When the U.S. took down that statue of Saddam Hussein, you can see it folds at that spot where the rebar is in the base of it,” Holland adds.

The story drew some criticism from a number of voices on social media.

I look forward to Popular Mechanics putting together a primer on how to make a Molotov cocktail https://t.co/Re2VkHeJSN

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) June 17, 2020

Definitely not the Popular Mechanics of yesteryear that had guest writers like Buzz Aldrin. How lame.

— Atane Ofiaja (@atane) June 16, 2020

Hmm… Popular Mechanics helpfully shows you how to tear down a statue using science and engineering. Woke signals?https://t.co/NXfEnyxZAr

— Jazz Shaw (@JazzShaw) June 17, 2020

Popular Mechanics goes full Taliban. Several engineers chime in on how to destroy statues. I always thought @PopMech was about building things. https://t.co/hiXFORXRDW

— Christina Sommers (@CHSommers) June 17, 2020

Popular Mechanics was founded in 1902.