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In Reply to: I BELIEVE THAT THE PUBLIC SHOULD BE WELL INFORMED posted by Ken Young on September 01, 2001 at 06:43:52:
I also believe that if someone were to ask you the question, "How high the Empire State Building is, you simply can not answer, "higher than my head when I am standing up. Such an answer is totally inappropriate to someone seeking information.
--True, a smart alec remark like that would be totally inappropriate. If someone asked me that question, I would answer 1,454 feet (443 meters).
Another answer that would be totally inappropriate would be the kind that you give. You would go off on one of your tangents and tell them, "Construction began on January 22, 1930 by Starrett Brothers and Eken and was completed on November 13, 1930. It took one year and 45 days to complete which included 7 million man hours and cost $40,948,900 including the land. The building by itself cost $24,718,000. The building occupies 79,288 square feet or about 2 acres. The foundation of the building lies 55 feet below ground, with the basement at 35 feet below ground and the first floor at 47 feet above sea level. The height of the antenna is 204 feet. There are 103 floors and 1,860 steps from the street level to the 102nd floor. The building has a volume of 37 million cubic feet and weighs 365,000 tons. The exterior of the building consists of 200,000 cubic feet of Indiana Limestone, 10,000 square feet of Rose Famosa and Estrallante marble. 300,000 square feet of Hauteville and Rocheron marble for elevator lobbies and corridors on the office floors. There are 6,500 windows and 73 elevators, including six freight elevators, operating at speeds from 600 to 1,400 feet per minute. The total enclosed in several miles of elevator shaft. (It is possible to ride from lobby to 80th floor in 45 seconds). 70 miles of pipe provide water to tanks at various floor levels with the uppermost at the 101st floor, satisfying average daily demand of 26,500 cubic feet. 2,500,000 feet of electrical wire conveys 40 million kilowatt hours used by building and tenants each year. A special water system feeds 400 fire hose connections throughout the building. A state-of-the-art audio warning and strobe light guidance system was installed in 1998. 100 tons of trash and waste are removed from the building each month and the building employs about 250 persons, including a maintenance staff of 150.”
--All that information is extraneous, Ken. They only wanted to know how tall it was.