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PredictionVideo · 31:28 — 31:54

All statues should be made of a durable soap that dissolves after about 60 years so every generation must actively decide whether to re-erect them, rather than carving heroes in marble permanently.

Conan proposes a playful but substantive solution to the statue debate: make statues from a soap-like material that lasts about 60 years and then dissolves, forcing each generation to consciously choose whether to re-erect a monument rather than passively inheriting permanent ones. ✦ AI generated

Conan O'Brien · The Rest Is History · 2026-07-25 · original ↗

starts at this moment · 31:28

I have this idea that all statues should be made of a very durable soap that lasts about 60 years and then they dissolve and then you decide whether you re-erect it. And that that should be every statue because the minute you some you carve someone in marble and put them up, especially in the modern era, the clock is ticking. And and and so why go through all the trouble of taking these statues down, making them a some a material that will dissolve and then you actively have to decide should we put it up again?

verbatim transcript · starts at 31:28

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31:28that lasts about 60 years and then they dissolve and then you decide whether you reerect it. And that that should be every statue because the minute you some you carve someone in marble and put them up, especially in the modern era, the clock is ticking. And and and so why go through all the trouble of taking these statues down, making them a some a material that will dissolve and then you

31:54actively have to decide should we put it up again? I mean, that's the opposite of Mount Rushmore, isn't it? Mount Rushmore's that's there for 7 million years. All right, that's that's not going anywhere. I thought Mount Rushmore was naturally occurring that it was just it found it. [laughter] Wow, what a coincidence. Yeah, what a coincidence. It was just a pattern of erosion. Um, [laughter] God really does love America. Theore

32:18Roosevelt's uh little glasses just natural natural erosion. I mean, one thing I was going to mention that I think is worth mentioning is that if you go to Berlin, they go out of their way to acknowledge, you know, what was happening in Berlin from 1938 through 45 and it's everywhere. And I think that that almost endeared me to the city more because I thought this is the way to deal with these with these,

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