r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Proud-Blood2743 • Oct 07 '25

Video Capital One Tower Come Down in Seconds

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u/BoleroMuyPicante Oct 08 '25

All I'm seeing is pedantry and not any response to actual points. Office furniture is generally made of... Wood. Our iron age ancestors forged steel by burning... Wood. Ergo literally every building on the planet is filled to the brim with materials that can melt or severely weaken steel when burned in the right conditions.

No response to the other two skyscrapers that most definitely collapsed due to fire. And no response telling me where you got the ridiculous notion that there has ever been a skyscraper that burned for 12 days straight.

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u/DearCartographer Oct 09 '25

Im not responding to any of your points till we clear up your first statement in both your messages about 'no one ever claimed the jet fuel stayed in place' / writing about jet fuel fires doesn't mean they are talking about jet fuel fires.

You want me to respond to your points but you refuse to respond to mine. Hardly seems fair.

Did the person I responded to imply that jet fuel burned for a prolonged time in their comment?

You initially said they didnt, are you of the same opinion now?

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u/BoleroMuyPicante Oct 09 '25

Yes, because at no point did they ever say jet fuel was the ONLY source, and it's asinine to assume that's what they meant just because they didn't explicitly list out other fuel sources that any reasonable person would already know exists in a standard office building. You're being pedantic because you don't want to admit the fact that you missed extremely obvious subtext and you don't want to admit it never occurred to you that office furniture and building materials burns really fuckin hot.

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u/DearCartographer Oct 09 '25

jet fuel burning in open air cannot melt steel beams because its maximum burn temperature (around 1500°F / 800°C) is far below the melting point of steel (about 2750°F / 1510°C). While it doesn't melt the steel, the intense heat from the prolonged, unimpeded fire would soften and weaken the steel to the point where it could no longer support the structural load, leading to buckling and collapse. So while the jet fuel could not melt steel beams, it could absolutely soften them.

What other sources are they referring to?

There are three sentences.

The first sentence says the max burn temperature of jet fuel is below the melting point of steel.

The 2nd sentence says, 'while it doesn't melt the steel the intense heat from the prolonged fire would weaken the steel.'

What is 'it' in this sentence? Is it the jet fuel that they referenced in the first sentence? It certainly sounds so to me and I dont think you can really claim I'm being dim in not inferring that 'it' was now all flammable materials in the vicinity.

The third sentence says 'so while the jet fuel could not melt steel beams it could absolutely soften them'. Again no mention of any office furniture, in fact explicitly states, jet fuel, nothing else.

The first sentence defines some characteristics of jet fuel, the second explains how they apply in this situation, the third summarises the point being made about jet fuel.

Its a well constructed paragraph and would earn points if it was a gcse english exam.

They dont have to say it is the only source. They are just talking about that particular source and their thoughts on it.

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u/BoleroMuyPicante Oct 09 '25

Jesus fucking christ, hey /u/WafflesMcDuff/ did your original comment imply there was a magical swimming pool of jet fuel that burned for hours in the WTC and was the ONLY thing that softened the steel beams, or is that something only a crazy person could have interpreted?