r/nottheonion • u/Vera_Telco • 7d ago

DC heat melts head off wax replica of Abraham Lincoln

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0xxjn07d6qo
3.0k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

93 comments sorted by

2.0k

u/StevenSanders90210 7d ago

A wax John Wilkes Booth was seen fleeing the scene with a lighter screaming "Bic semper tyrannis!"

228

u/CletusDSpuckler 7d ago

Outstanding.

53

u/Canadian_Invader 7d ago

Not for long in this heat.

7

u/humboldt77 6d ago

Outmelting.

1

u/SkankHont 5d ago

That candle only cost $150k. Likely another 50k just to remove it.

33

u/TheToastyWesterosi 7d ago

Yeah dude, reddit still comes through from time to time. God-tier comment indeed.

3

u/BobBelcher2021 6d ago

Off topic but I love this username and avatar

35

u/Packman87 7d ago

And then his leg shatters 

3

u/GirlScoutSniper 6d ago

Lands on hot asphalt, he's down!

9

u/Liveoutsideyourself 7d ago

Exceptional, absolutely exceptional! Top tier comment

-8

u/Objective-Aioli-1185 7d ago

Alright settle down.

3

u/MrPuzzleMan 6d ago

This made my day! Thank you, friend!

5

u/DFWTrojanTuba 7d ago

Jesus Christ hahaha

287

u/Specialist-Fly-9446 7d ago

Article leaves out the most important part - what is the melting point of this candle wax, and how hot was it?

174

u/Porkodile 7d ago

Wax can have a pretty big large difference for melting points, beween 100F - 190F. Apparently it didn't even reach 100F in DC although that could be wrong.

126

u/EddieSpaghettiFarts 7d ago

They measure that temp in the shade. Poor Abe doesn’t even have an umbrella.

108

u/ArethereWaffles 7d ago

It's also a measure of air temperature which is different from an object's surface temperature. Just because the air is 90F doesn't mean asphalt roads, metal railings, or wax statues are at 90F

46

u/SuperOrangeFoot 7d ago

Yeah it seems wild to me to look at a melting object in direct sunlight and go “what is the ambient temperature of the air surrounding it?”

5

u/bingate10 6d ago

It shouldn’t be wild it is basic thermodynamics. Both are important. Air removes solar radiant heat absorbed by objects. Colder air moving faster will drive cooling most. Air got too warm and/or stagnant and the wax heated above melt point from sunlight. It was fine in the sun before it melted.

8

u/Specialist-Fly-9446 7d ago

It is interesting for those with a sense of intellectual curiosity.

18

u/firedmyass 7d ago

“there’s dozens of us!”

10

u/Quake_Guy 7d ago

Somehow measuring solar load as a temperature adder as humidity is used to create heat index has never been done.

As someone who lives in Phoenix, I am curious. I seem to be the only one that brings it up.

1

u/Rae_Regenbogen 6d ago

Now that I've read this comment, I'm just going to pretend that the artist made the head out of a wax that has a lower melting point just for the lolz

32

u/_Rand_ 7d ago

Looks like most waxes are between 120-180f, but some can be as low as 75f.

Given the idea behind this was to melt I'd assume they used some sort of blend that kept it much lower than 120f but not so low it would be a puddle on a slightly warm day.

It does sound like it's melting faster than intended though.

7

u/OtakuboyT 7d ago

It's so hot... I saw a funeral procession pull into the Dairy Queen drive thru

It was so hot today that Burger King was singing, “If you want it your way, cook it yourself!”

  • Johnny Carson

7

u/MarvinLazer 7d ago

It doesn't need to melt to be structurally compromised.

6

u/Specialist-Fly-9446 7d ago

I just want the numbers!

3

u/Roofofcar 6d ago

A different article I read this morning said it was 140F

1

u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Specialist-Fly-9446 6d ago

I think you responded to the wrong comment.

2

u/unclepaprika 6d ago

Lol, indeed

362

u/SelectiveSanity 7d ago

Damn you Sol Wilkes Booth!

26

u/ReliableOaf 7d ago

That’s pretty good, made me chortle.

2

u/ItsP1zzaTime 6d ago

Maybe it was a John Wax Booth

1

u/KingVape 6d ago

Not even Sun Wilkes Booth?

206

u/BalognaMacaroni 7d ago

Since this keeps getting posted everywhere - it’s an art installation that was supposed to melt. It’s literally the point of its existence

100

u/BlowMoreGlass 7d ago

It was "intended to be burnt like a candle and change over time" but the extreme heat jacked it up much more and much faster than they intended

5

u/Spoonythebastard 6d ago

It wasn't the "extreme heat" the people who made it just didn't seem to think about what wax does on asphalt during the summer.

55

u/hotlavatube 7d ago

Still a missed opportunity to have hidden a terminator skeleton inside.

29

u/chupathingy99 7d ago

The Lincolnator.

"Hasta la Vista, slavery."

Coming this summer.

2

u/bland_jalapeno 7d ago

Brilliant!

2

u/hotlavatube 6d ago

I’d watch it.

5

u/OneWingedA 6d ago

Put a wooden coffin inside and it's all an elaborate way to announce Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter 2

1

u/eagledog 6d ago

At least they didn't put a Planet of the Apes poster inside of it

3

u/doctorfortoys 7d ago

Thanks for explaining.

1

u/unclepaprika 6d ago

So the art piece that is a symbol of america was supposed to melt, as design, and it wasn't an error made by the everyday man? Interesting.

88

u/WhosAGoodDoug 7d ago

His Gettysburg Address is famous for its brevity, so no one should have expected him to wax eloquently.

5

u/Neat-Yogurtcloset990 7d ago

Take my upvote and get out

18

u/Buddhadevine 7d ago

We need Dipper Pines on the case

32

u/manticore16 7d ago

They were showing a wax production of Our American Cousin.

13

u/Lebowski304 7d ago

Heat melts wax statue built specifically to melt in heat…in other news hot sauce makes food spicy.

7

u/Y_N0T_Z0IDB3RG 7d ago

At least it wasn't a wax replica of JFK

6

u/Fan387 7d ago

Must be fun to pass by this statue at night

4

u/Arroyoyoyo 7d ago

Replace it with an ape head

3

u/ASassoNation 7d ago

Fallout 3 reference

4

u/johnblazewutang 7d ago

Is wax really a viable outdoor medium for dc..youre going to redo it?

4

u/Accurate_Koala_4698 7d ago

I'm up to my knees in the original cast of M*A*S*H

4

u/ooofest 6d ago

It's kind of symbolic for these times, in multiple ways, actually.

6

u/MAXRRR 7d ago

Thanks Obama

3

u/Pilot0350 7d ago

Wait wasn't that the point though? I thought I read the intention was for it to melt

3

u/yeetgod__ 7d ago

abe like the guy from the maxwell cassette ad

2

u/DharmaDivine 7d ago

I remember that!

3

u/jpmeyer12751 7d ago

Somebody played a recording of Trump claiming to have done more for Black Americans than any other President; and Abe’s head exploded!

7

u/EntertainmentAOK 7d ago

There’s a Jebediah Springfield joke in here somewhere.

4

u/MuchoGrandeRandy 7d ago

The same thing that happened to his political party as well. 

2

u/philpalmer2 7d ago

Still accurate

2

u/lesley_dancer 7d ago

Coolest summer you’ll experience for the rest of your lives lol

2

u/LexLuthorJr 7d ago

They should have made a wax figure of Toht from Raiders of the Lost Ark instead.

2

u/Bacchanalia- 6d ago

I like how they're planning to reattach the head like "Surely it couldn't happen twice."

2

u/AKeeneyedguy 6d ago

"So, Mrs. Lincoln, other than that, how did you enjoy the play?"

2

u/Animhatrix 6d ago

John Wilts Booth enters the chat

2

u/Whamalater 6d ago

How long has this thing existed without melting? Has it survived a single summer before this?

3

u/Global-Discussion-41 7d ago

This is not nottheonion material

1

u/illinoishokie 7d ago

That's a fantastic metaphor for the state of our union.

1

u/amadeuspoptart 7d ago

Abraham Blinknyoullmissum

1

u/InnocentPrimeMate 7d ago

The was the work of vampires!

1

u/Rivegauche610 6d ago

Now do convicted felon Trump.

1

u/Bright-Ad-9363 6d ago

Too. Soon.

1

u/aknsobk 6d ago

transformers 3 reference

1

u/cofclabman 6d ago

Time to build a theater around it.

1

u/Daren_I 6d ago

The new version installed in February has strategically placed (and fewer) wicks. A plaque below reads: "Please blow out your wick within 1-2 minutes."

I'm really liking this idea. Someone installed a statue that people can set on fire. I mean, this caters to everyone.

1

u/dodadoler 6d ago

Prob should have used AC

1

u/Xunil76 6d ago

That shit wouldn't last a single season here in TX outside...old Honest Abe would be just a puddle of wax on the ground in no time.

1

u/[deleted] 5d ago

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1

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1

u/elderoth94 4d ago

dammit, now ive got to help the temple of the union fix this

0

u/SaltyBarDog 7d ago

Woke sun cancels Lincoln.

0

u/CommiesAreWeak 7d ago

No, the most important part is, it’s a temporary art installation, doing as designed,