# Please explain this 9-11 BBC article a "Truther" sent me. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947 "2018-08-01T21:04:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/21 "2018-08-01T23:23:53Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > How it fell. I said debris and Fire… He doesn’t but that. What professional expertise and training does he have to refute the conclusions in the NIST report on why building 7 collapsed? If he’s leaping on the whole "the building fell at free fall speed!’ bandwagon, point, laugh, and walk away. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/22 "2018-08-01T23:26:13Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Yeah. > > What gets me is that this is a brilliant guy otherwise with a high IQ. > > He’s very very smart. I knew a fairly smart guy once who claimed that the M-16 in Vietnam was a smoothbore, which is why the bullets tumbled. Intelligence doesn’t stop stupid beliefs. In fact, it may reinforce them, as they believe they’re too smart to believe stupid things and must therefore be right. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/23 "2018-08-01T23:49:47Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > What professional expertise and training does he have to refute the conclusions in the NIST report on why building 7 collapsed? > > If he’s leaping on the whole "the building fell at free fall speed!’ bandwagon, point, laugh, and walk away. LoL. I could, but the onus is always put on me somehow. He’ll just show me a YouTube video with some “expert” saying it an anomaly. He’s too far gone. He’s a perfectly good person and really cares that, (he thinks,) the government is conspiring against us with 9/11. It would be easier to laugh if the government was trust worry . ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/24 "2018-08-02T00:17:49Z")
The daily news is only the first draft of history. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/25 "2018-08-02T00:47:10Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > The daily news is only the first draft of history. The 9-11 disaster didn’t happen yesterday-there has been plenty of time for experts to analyze what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/26 "2018-08-02T00:55:12Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The 9-11 disaster didn’t happen yesterday-there has been plenty of time for experts to analyze what happened. And analyze it they did, and found nothing to complain about and no viable conspiracy theory. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/27 "2018-08-02T02:07:50Z")
For what it’s worth, the Popular Mechanics site has a good page on debunking several of the more common conspiracy theories, including WTC 7 and explosives. It won’t help logic somebody out of a position they didn’t logic themselves into, but it does a good job of summarizing what actually happened and why explosives couldn’t be involved. [https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/design/a3524/4278874/](https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/design/a3524/4278874/) At your own risk, you can wade into some of the earlier board threads on the topic (some of which link to the many other threads on it): [Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=800493) [Give me your 9/11 conspiracy theories! And/or their debunking](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=518232) [New NIST Report On WTC 7 - Change Anybody’s Mind?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=480542) [The _REALLY_ crazy conspiracy theory: WTC buildings downed by controlled demolition](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=422793) As for the government, the simplest explanation is best - too many people would have to be involved in something of that scale, and one would have surely leaked by now. Forget engineers or government officials, some underpaid security guard or janitor would have sold the story by this point. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/28 "2018-08-02T03:07:55Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > For what it’s worth, the Popular Mechanics site has a good page on debunking several of the more common conspiracy theories, including WTC 7 and explosives. It won’t help logic somebody out of a position they didn’t logic themselves into, but it does a good job of summarizing what actually happened and why explosives couldn’t be involved. > > [https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/design/a3524/4278874/](https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/design/a3524/4278874/) > > At your own risk, you can wade into some of the earlier board threads on the topic (some of which link to the many other threads on it): > [Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=800493) > [Give me your 9/11 conspiracy theories! And/or their debunking](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=518232) > [New NIST Report On WTC 7 - Change Anybody’s Mind?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=480542) > [The _REALLY_ crazy conspiracy theory: WTC buildings downed by controlled demolition](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=422793) > > As for the government, the simplest explanation is best - too many people would have to be involved in something of that scale, and one would have surely leaked by now. Forget engineers or government officials, some underpaid security guard or janitor would have sold the story by this point. We got into the Popular Mechanics stuff, he’s too far gone. However it’s always good to know how to shoot down his beliefs. Those threads will come in handy, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/29 "2018-08-02T03:20:06Z")
Ask him how thermite managed to cut horizontally. I mean, yes, some 12+ years after the event some guy developed a method that manages to angle the thermite burn, but it was awkward and clumsy and would require everyone with an office to ignore the large mechanism sticking out of what see to be their drywall office wall and into the load bearing columns. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/30 "2018-08-02T03:32:31Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Ask him how thermite managed to cut horizontally. > > I mean, yes, some 12+ years after the event some guy developed a method that manages to angle the thermite burn, but it was awkward and clumsy and would require everyone with an office to ignore the large mechanism sticking out of what see to be their drywall office wall and into the load bearing columns. TBH, he’s never brought up termite. That is an assumption on my part. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/31 "2018-08-02T11:41:24Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > TBH, he’s never brought up termite. > > That is an assumption on my part. If it isn’t thermite then it would have to be explosives which somehow magically were also installed without notice _and were completely silent!_ Get him to explain what happen. If he thinks the WT7 report is flawed the burden is on him to explain how and why. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/32 "2018-08-02T11:54:37Z")
WTC7 explained: - A big chunk of one of the towers fell onto the roof of WTC7, punching a giant hole through the middle of the building and starting a fire. - The fire suppression systems were severely damaged by the aforementioned chunk, so the fire raged uncontrolled for hours. - The combination of the raging inferno and the giant hole severely compromised the structural integrity of the building, which eventually fell down. There are plenty of pictures of the hole and the fire. This is not an inexplicable scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/33 "2018-08-02T11:57:06Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Sorry, I missed this. > > No questions in his mind. > > " the building’s wouldn’t have fell down like that without explosives" Ask him how “they” knew exactly which floor the planes were going to hit, so that “they” could plant the explosives on that floor? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/34 "2018-08-02T12:10:55Z")
“Never assume conspiracy what is better explained by incompetence” – Someone smarter than your friend … ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/35 "2018-08-02T12:11:49Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > WTC7 explained: > > - A big chunk of one of the towers fell onto the roof of WTC7, punching a giant hole through the middle of the building and starting a fire. > - The fire suppression systems were severely damaged by the aforementioned chunk, so the fire raged uncontrolled for hours. > - The combination of the raging inferno and the giant hole severely compromised the structural integrity of the building, which eventually fell down. > > There are plenty of pictures of the hole and the fire. This is not an inexplicable scenario. Fire suppression was also inhibited by the collapse of the Twin Towers breaking the water lines in the WTC region. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/36 "2018-08-02T12:36:16Z")
Also, not a single conspiracy theorist has ever satisfactorily explained why the US government (or whoever "truly did 9/11) would **want** to knock down WTC7. There is no purpose served in doing so. What does knocking down the Twin Towers + WTC7 get you that merely knocking down the Twin Towers alone doesn’t? ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/37 "2018-08-02T13:29:40Z")
Some good suggestions. I had asked him why planes hitting towers wasn’t enough. He would probably say, “to destroy evidence!” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/38 "2018-08-02T14:07:35Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Also, not a single conspiracy theorist has ever satisfactorily explained why the US government (or whoever "truly did 9/11) would **want** to knock down WTC7. There is no purpose served in doing so. What does knocking down the Twin Towers + WTC7 get you that merely knocking down the Twin Towers alone doesn’t? According to the insane theories I’ve encountered, there was something of note in the basement of WTC7 (gold bars, secret government projects, etc) and the building collapse was used to cover its theft or destruction. Maybe it was Hillary’s child sex ring / pizza restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/39 "2018-08-02T15:33:20Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Or maybe just explosives… But if you feel like you’ve argued this too much, I hear ya and I’m in the same boat… So close the thread of you want. This is probably the best video to debunk explosives: Anyone who's ever seen video of a real demolition knows that the explosives are very loud, and yet, these people just a few blocks away from WTC7 don't react to the collapse until it's well underway, and they actually \*see\* it falling. There was someone years ago who claimed that they were actors trained not to react to the sound of the explosions, but exactly how did they train _the baby_ to do that? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947/40 "2018-08-02T15:40:02Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > There was someone years ago who claimed that they were actors trained not to react to the sound of the explosions, but exactly how did they train _the baby_ to do that? Deaf baby. CONNECT THE DOTS, SHEEPLE! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-this-9-11-bbc-article-a-truther-sent-me/818947.md?page=3)