# Americans: did you know what the World Trade Center was before Sept. 11, 2001? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738 "2011-03-15T02:35:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/21 "2011-03-15T03:33:32Z")
Yes. Of course. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/22 "2011-03-15T03:33:37Z")
Yes. I lived just outside NYC (on Long Island) throughout the 80s and went to the observation deck several times, and I used to see the towers every morning as I drove to work. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/23 "2011-03-15T03:34:30Z")
Never been to NYC. I’ve known what they were for over 30 years. Tallest buildings in the world for a while. King Kong climbed them in the first remake. I’m kinda out of other references. But that was enough to catch my attention as a child. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/24 "2011-03-15T03:34:59Z")
Of course I had heard of them before 9/11. I was in school when they were completed. It was a big story when they were opened for business. There was also an infamous bombing in them in 1993. In addition to the King Kong remake, they were featured in a Simpsons episode. As **appleciders** mentioned, they were the most dominant feature of New York’s skyline for decades. They replaced the Empire State Building as the icon of New York City. I cannot conceive of any American over the age of 10 in 2001 who did not know what the Twin Towers were. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/25 "2011-03-15T03:35:13Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > did everyone _really_ automatically know what was being talked about when someone said “World Trade Center”? Really?? Apparently, yes. How old are you, if I may ask? ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/26 "2011-03-15T03:35:20Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > (People who lived in the New York Metropolitan area either during or before the attacks don’t need to reply unless they somehow _didn’t_ know what the WTC was.) Oh, sorry. I didn’t see this until I posted. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/27 "2011-03-15T03:37:11Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > I have to say, though, I still can’t quite believe that they really had the same instant visual/name recognition as other iconic sites - like the Empire State Building or (to a _slightly_ lesser extent) the Chrysler Building, much less the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Sydney Opera House, St. Louis Arch, Golden Gate Bridge, Brandenburg Gate, etc. From what I remember reading, that recognition factor is **exactly** why they were repeatedly targeted by al-Qaeda. While they may have lacked the aesthetic appeal or history of some of the other landmarks you name, I do think that they were seen, both within and outside of the U.S., as symbols of NYC (and, by extension, of America, by those outside of the U.S.). ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/28 "2011-03-15T03:39:14Z")
I’ll help the OP out. I did not know what they were. On 9/11 my dad woke me up to tell me a plane crashed in to the World Trade Center and I said “where is that?” and went back to sleep. I’m a 32yo female from Ohio. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/29 "2011-03-15T03:42:40Z")
Had never visited them but knew about them. I had visited Empire State as a child a couple of times but never WTC, but definitely knew about them. I knew about the first terrorist attack and I remember doing a mural of the NYC skyline in second grade and of course they were a huge part of that. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/30 "2011-03-15T03:42:58Z")
oops ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/31 "2011-03-15T03:43:07Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’ll help the OP out. I did not know what they were. On 9/11 my dad woke me up to tell me a plane crashed in to the World Trade Center and I said “where is that?” and went back to sleep. > > I’m a 32yo female from Ohio. Sorry about that. Actually, that does fit the OP’s theory in post #20. You hadn’t been born yet when they were built. You were only 14 or so when the first attack happened in '93. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/32 "2011-03-15T03:43:23Z")
I knew and the first an only time I’ve been to Manhattan was long before they were there, so I missed 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/33 "2011-03-15T03:54:01Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Actually, that does fit the OP’s theory in post #20. You hadn’t been born yet when they were built. You were only 14 or so when the first attack happened in '93. FWIW, I am also 32. I turned 15 in 1993 and I was definitely aware of the attack. I think I was probably somewhat more engaged with the world around me than many of my peers, but not to a really unusual extent. Even teenagers notice terrorist attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/34 "2011-03-15T03:56:02Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’ll help the OP out. I did not know what they were. On 9/11 my dad woke me up to tell me a plane crashed in to the World Trade Center and I said “where is that?” and went back to sleep. > > I’m a 32yo female from Ohio. Sorry about that. Thank you. > [@Kyla](#): > > Apparently, yes. > > How old are you, if I may ask? Now I’ll really get some flack - I’m 30. I was 12 when they were bombed in '93, and remember hearing about that, but didn’t start following the news in earnest for another year or so. I was 20 when they fell. FWIW, I never saw this King Kong remake in which he climbs the WTC. And I would have known in 2001 exactly what the Petronas Towers were, because I remember the excitement and interest when they were completed a few years earlier - just the kind of consciousness-making press that made people aware of the WTC when it was completed. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/35 "2011-03-15T04:05:40Z")
Canadian here. Of course I knew about the WTC. It was an iconic landmark. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/36 "2011-03-15T04:22:20Z")
Yes I knew what the WTC was before the first attack. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/37 "2011-03-15T04:37:43Z")
I certainly knew of the WTC, however, until the news coverage in the days (or weeks) after the attacks I had no idea that there were more then just the two towers. Of course, the rest of the complex wasn’t really all that newsworthy as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/38 "2011-03-15T04:39:35Z")
I still don’t really know what they were, aside from big skyscrapers where a lot of people worked (which is what I knew then). I don’t know what kinds of businesses were inside, or what they actually did there, or what made it important before the tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/39 "2011-03-15T04:42:42Z")
I heard of them, but never knew what they actually did. I assumed they were just office buildings, and 9/11 didn’t educate me otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738/40 "2011-03-15T04:46:34Z")
I knew exactly what they were. I’m 43 now, I’ve lived in California all my life, and my only visit to New York was a 3 hour layover at JFK en route from Frankfurt to San Francisco. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-did-you-know-what-the-world-trade-center-was-before-sept-11-2001/574738.md?page=3)