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Artists Turns a Tank into a Bookmobile and Calls It a Weapon of Mass Instruction

Photo Credit: ARMA DE INSTRUCCION MASIVA

Is there a better way to combat ignorance and spread literacy than with a tank? It certainly catches the eye.

Buenos Aires artist Raul Lemesoff created his weapon by turning a 1979 Ford Falcon into a tank. It has a turret that swivels, a non-working gun and shelves inside and out for around 900 books.

On a video produced by 7Up about the project, Lemesoff is filmed cruising through the streets, delivering books to people. He only demands they promise to read the books.

The project took several years of work, but clearly it all paid off. Now, Lemesoff drives across Argentina, distributing books throughout the cities and countryside.

He says the tank works for social good as “a structure that has the ability of transporting books, giving books away, collecting books, making a mess of people’s heads.”

Lemesoff’s friends knew he was offbeat and creative, but they couldn’t guess what he was putting together in the early stages of the project.

A submarine? Spaceship?

Nope! I reading tank.

His ingenuity made an impression – the unusual bookmobile has gained international attention. “My missions are very dangerous,” he jokes in the 7Up video. “I attack people in a very nice and fun way.”