The idea is to replace the Buddhas of Bamiyan with inflatable replicas.
The original statues were destroyed in March 2001 by the Taliban, on orders from leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, after the Taliban government declared that they were idols.
Replacing them may take many years, and might become a focal point for attack, but inflatables could be constructed off site, and quickly installed. Being manufactured with a multi-chambered design would mean that any bullet damage would be easily rectified with a simple low tech puncture repair kit.
Inflating the Buddhas is the really exciting part, as this would involve collecting the breathes of many individual followers and devotees. A small fee would be charged for the privilege of adding your breathe to bring life into the Buddhas.
The accumulated breathes would eventually be assembled and compressed into cylinders then used to inflate the Buddhas. The money collected from many followers would pay for the entire process, along with long term maintenance of the Buddhas.-- xenzag, May 16 2013 Buddhas of Bamiyan http://en.wikipedia.../Buddhas_of_Bamiyan [xenzag, May 16 2013] Inflatable Monument http://www.youtube....v=sUkZFetWYY0#t=54s [Sgt Teacup, May 16 2013] Who'dathunkit? http://2.bp.blogspo...x1rxs2rto1_1280.jpg [2 fries shy of a happy meal, May 16 2013] http://www.google.c...ble+buddha&tbm=isch [FlyingToaster, May 16 2013] noun: one breath, two breaths
verb: I breathe, s/he breathes
Other than that, it's a fine idea. Human ingenuity triumphs over human stupidity--I like it. Have an inflatable bun.-- Sgt Teacup, May 16 2013 If everyone chewed garlic before they blew into it, it might prove a deterrent to anyone wanting to destroy it.-- not_morrison_rm, May 16 2013 GonflaBuddha. Ha! (+)-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, May 16 2013 [+] Wonderful idea! I cried when I saw that destruction!-- xandram, May 16 2013 The Taliban really are right out of the middle-ages, aren't they? Somewhere in the mesozoic.-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 16 2013 I like the irony of replacing Buddhist things that have been destroyed.-- tatterdemalion, May 16 2013 VWKTE <link>-- FlyingToaster, May 16 2013 //The Taliban really are right out of the middle-ages// The problem with the Taliban is that they are more of an idea than an organisation. The way to deal with a bad idea is to counter it with a better idea. Killing its followers only spreads the idea further.-- xenzag, May 17 2013 Reminds me of one of Ravi's poems about selling the gold waterbowl and buying 10,000 iron ones.-- FlyingToaster, May 17 2013 What [2 fries shy of a happy meal] wrote.
Indeed.-- skinflaps, May 17 2013 At least the Taliban did not carry out ritual sacrifice of Afghanis on the scale that crazy pagan superpower did.
I do love this idea. Buddhism is supposed to be about impermanence.-- fishboner, May 17 2013 Take this another step and float the Buddhas over the landscape, over Taliban-controlled territory. Float so many Buddahs that the skies are filled with them and the Taliban exhaust their stores of ammunition trying to shoot them down.-- ldischler, May 17 2013 Annually pop-the-Buddha. Or more often if there's any excuse to do so; inflating the replacement should be a good reason to celebrate.-- lurch, May 17 2013 [+] Last week I saw the Dalai Lama lecture. Quite a funny guy, not to mention nice. Oh and inspiring too. On the way out, I overheard one young man say to another: "Dude, was that not Yoda?"-- sqeaketh the wheel, May 18 2013 Nice idea.-- blissmiss, May 18 2013 I suppose filling the balloon with hydrogen would and turning it into a large land mine would go against some teaching or Conan?-- popbottle, May 19 2013 random, halfbakery