# The \*very\* crane that inspired my thread about toppling cranes collapsed today! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 15, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-crane-that-inspired-my-thread-about-toppling-cranes-collapsed-today/441501 "2008-03-15T23:35:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-crane-that-inspired-my-thread-about-toppling-cranes-collapsed-today/441501/21 "2008-03-16T20:28:44Z")
I was across town when it happened with a group of Scouts touring The Cloisters. It’s built very close to a fault line and some of the kids were jumping up and down by the seismograph machines to try to get the needles to move. I stopped them quickly; I’m sure it was just a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-crane-that-inspired-my-thread-about-toppling-cranes-collapsed-today/441501/22 "2008-03-17T00:31:55Z")
[QUOTE=Larry Mudd] …and when it happened there was an active thread in GQ asking if it was really true that there needed to be a certain number of aircraft in the air at any given time because there wasn’t enough tarmac to accomodate all of them on the ground. Maybe we should stop with these hypotheticals. Spooooooky. [/QUOTE] I thought of that one, too. It took some powerful searching-fu to get back prior to 2002, but here’s the thread in question: [Impossible for Every Plane to Land?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=85362) ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-crane-that-inspired-my-thread-about-toppling-cranes-collapsed-today/441501/23 "2008-03-17T03:30:13Z")
Wait, I’ve got a bizarre 9/11 coinkidink as well. [One of the first threads I ever launched](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=86402) (under my old handle, **Rocket88** ), was a general question about how many people, on average, were in the air at any given moment. The OP was posted the evening of 10 September 2001, at (gulp) 9:11 PM. Only got one answer, from one of the Mods, go figure. Of course, for the next week or so, there wasn’t anyone in the air (in US airspace at least) except for some military personnel. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-crane-that-inspired-my-thread-about-toppling-cranes-collapsed-today/441501/24 "2008-03-17T04:15:09Z")
[QUOTE=El\_Kabong] Wait, I’ve got a bizarre 9/11 coinkidink as well. [One of the first threads I ever launched](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=86402) (under my old handle, **Rocket88** ), was a general question about how many people, on average, were in the air at any given moment. The OP was posted the evening of 10 September 2001, at (gulp) 9:11 PM. Only got one answer, from one of the Mods, go figure. Of course, for the next week or so, there wasn’t anyone in the air (in US airspace at least) except for some military personnel. [/QUOTE] And if I hadn’t been distracted by the events of the time, I would have pointed out to you that you _totally_ neglected the non-airlines aspect of aviation, which is considerably larger in number of aircraft per day, although fewer number of people per aircraft. It’s still an interesting question. Maybe you should ask it again. But - back to the topic of this thread - have they found all the missing people yet, or are they still missing? ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-crane-that-inspired-my-thread-about-toppling-cranes-collapsed-today/441501/25 "2008-03-17T19:26:07Z")
> [@Stuyguy](#): > > Last week I started a thread asking about the possibility of a tower crane toppling: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...ad.php?t=458791](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...ad.php?t=458791). Well, today it did! Not one just like it. Not one nearby. The very same crane! 1. What are the chances that **Stuyguy** will win the lottery and give use all a share? 2. What are the chances that a meteor will fall out of the sky and bop **Stuyguy** on the head? 3. What are the chances that everyone in the Saint Patrick’s parade will suddenly congregate at **Stuyguy’s** home? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-crane-that-inspired-my-thread-about-toppling-cranes-collapsed-today/441501/26 "2008-03-17T19:42:13Z")
[QUOTE=El\_Kabong] Wait, I’ve got a bizarre 9/11 coinkidink as well. [One of the first threads I ever launched](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=86402) (under my old handle, **Rocket88** ), was a general question about how many people, on average, were in the air at any given moment. The OP was posted the evening of 10 September 2001, at (gulp) 9:11 PM. Only got one answer, from one of the Mods, go figure. Of course, for the next week or so, there wasn’t anyone in the air (in US airspace at least) except for some military personnel. [/QUOTE] Hah! You think that’s something? I started a thread about meatloaf _and then made one that very day!_ I get chills just thinking about it. ---
**Author:** ![Caricci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Caricci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caricci)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-crane-that-inspired-my-thread-about-toppling-cranes-collapsed-today/441501/27 "2008-03-17T20:18:40Z")
[QUOTE=Chefguy] Hah! You think that’s something? I started a thread about meatloaf _and then made one that very day!_ I get chills just thinking about it. [/QUOTE] I literally laughed out loud at this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-very-crane-that-inspired-my-thread-about-toppling-cranes-collapsed-today/441501.md?page=1)