Facing mounting criticism for erecting a 20-foot statue of a robot that some have labeled a "monstrosity," the longtime mayor of Ankara, Turkey, arrived at a solution: He replaced it last week, at taxpayer expense, with a replica of a 32-foot-long Tyrannosaurus rex.

A flamboyant politician who’s been mayor of the country’s capital city since 1994, Melih Gökçek had responded to backlash over the initial statue by saying “Respect the robot," only to later announce plans to replace it with a dinosaur, because the robot "got on the leftists’ nerves.”

According to BBC News, he then took to Twitter for suggestions for what kind of dinosaur it should be. Curiously, while the T. rex didn't win the popular vote, it ended up replacing the robot anyway.

Both statues are intended to promote a new theme park, AnkaPark, that's been one of the mayor's pet projects. However, Gökçek has made it clear the T. rex won't be the last statue erected opposite the park, saying, "I will also replace the dinosaur with something else."

There's no word on how much the two statues have cost the city. There's also that lawsuit filed by Turkey’s Chamber of Architects and Engineers to contend with ...

(via The Daily Dot)