#Popular Mechanics blasted for guide on ‘how to topple a statue’

Christopher Columbus statues at Columbus Park outside the Brooklyn Supreme Court.
Paul Martinka

“Bring that sucker down without anyone getting hurt,” the article posted Monday encourages readers, promising the best advice on “how to topple a statue using science.”

Author James Stout says his article is inspired by the worldwide attacks on “problematic monuments” tied to the “legacy of racism” amid ongoing protests.

“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 says.

Mechanical engineer Scott Holland then advised how — with about 70 strong friends — protesters could pull down most statues with 4×4 recovery straps “around the head or the neck.”

Holland also suggested using a butane or propane torch to heat up the statue, saying, “You’ll be there for 15 to 20 minutes, but it’s a lot easier.”

Failing that, there’s also a “chemical approach” — with a detailed guide on “melting the damn thing” and using thermite, Stout writes, saying it has the “fun bonus” of producing a high-pitched squeal.

“One could imagine it sounding something like the sound a confederate general would make if their feet were on fire,” Chris Harrison, a chemistry professor at San Diego State University, told the mag.

The article quickly sparked outrage online — with many saying they’d ended subscriptions.

“The liberals gradually destroyed it with way too much popular and way too little mechanics,” one of those canceling, an Army veteran named Dillon, tweeted.

“We have finally gone insane – Popular Mechanics goes full on revolutionary,” reader Jack Maxey tweeted, while another named Kodi wrote, “Pushing anarchy? You’re done Popular Mechanics.”

“Popular Mechanics goes full Taliban,” Christina Sommers wrote, saying she always thought the magazine “was about building things” not bringing them down.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, meanwhile, quipped, “I look forward to Popular Mechanics putting together a primer on how to make a Molotov cocktail.”

The magazine did not immediately return messages seeking comment.