It's So Hot... Honest Abe Lost His Head

The viral photo shows the Abraham Lincoln statue's melted head and right foot, and the legs separated from its torso. #AbrahamLincon #USA #Weather #SocialDiaryMagazine pic.twitter.com/M7uJVHYm9K

— Weekly Social Diary (@SocialDiaryMagz) June 26, 2024

A 3,000-pound statue of Abraham Lincoln sits in front of Garrison Elementary School in Washington, DC. The replica of the president's statue in the Lincoln Memorial is made of wax, installed by artist and art professor Sandy Williams IV. It's titled 40 ACRES: Camp Barker. There are ten candle wicks installed in the statue, which students and visitors were encouraged to light for short periods of time.  

This all worked out fine in February, when the statue was erected. It was scheduled to stay in place until September. But last week's record-breaking heat wave did a number on Abe, melting the wax so much that his head fell back, and is now completely gone. His legs separated from his torso. And the resulting photographs became a meme. Williams has made quite a few wax statues, and has never had one fail so spectacularly. The rest of the wax mess will be removed before students return on August 26. However, the story behind the statue and the history of its location gets a boost from the unfortunate destruction, and you can catch up on all that at Hyperallergic. -via Nag on the Lake