A three-meter statue was melted down by a plumbing company

A three-meter tall statue representing prefect Claude-Marius Vaïsse was commissioned by Henri Chevreau but never installed due to public hostility. His heirs had to buy it back for 5,500 francs in 1890 to prevent it from being used to honor Claude Bernard. Unable to display it because of its imposing size, they eventually sold it to a plumbing company that had it melted down in 1902.