Trivia

[Мастер]

I was sure there must have been a thread for this sort of thing, but I sure can't find it.

So here goes.

Q: Where is the tallest building in the world, excluding Asia and the US?

[Heid the Ba]

Was there not a pissing contest a while back where Australian cities started building skyscrapers? I would have to Google for an answer though.

[Lance]

[strike]Dubai[/strike]?

I guess that's Asia.

[Мастер]

[strike]Dubai[/strike]?

I guess that's Asia.

As one of the newest members of the Emirates frequent flier programme, I would tend to agree.

Was there not a pissing contest a while back where Australian cities started building skyscrapers? I would have to Google for an answer though.

Quite possibly. There has been quite a pissing contest in Asia the last few years, but Dubai (note Llance's reference) has pissed all the other competitors out of the water. There are some definitional issues, but Burj Khalifa, at 828 metres, is the tallest by any of the commonly used definitions. With the definition I am using, the second is Taipei 101, which is 508 metres high. Not even close.

[Мастер]

A rather odd fact (I think), is that North Korea has the 32nd tallest building in the world, at 330 metres. Of the 31 that are taller, 25 are in Asia, four are in Chicago, and two are in New York.

[Мастер]

OK, further details. I am getting my information from a list that specifies "tallest skyscrapers by architectural detail". The same source has the alternative lists, "height to roof" and "height to pinnacle". The last one appears to include things like antennae.

Using these three different criteria, the answer to my trivia question has three different answers.

Also, the lists I am using seem to distinguish buildings meant to be occupied, vs. "structures" of other types. For example, the CN tower in Toronto is not on any of the lists, as it does not appear to be considered a "building".

[KLA2]

For example, the CN tower in Toronto is not on any of the lists, as it does not appear to be considered a "building".

Aside: The CN tower (basically an antenna platform with a revolving dining room near the top) was referred to as "the world's tallest free-standing structure" It no longer is.

[Мастер]

Not doing too well here. Anyone want to give it a try, or should I just answer?

[Enzo]

CN tower was my guess, but apparently not.

[Мастер]

CN tower was my guess, but apparently not.

It's all a matter of definitions. The source I used (Wikipedia) cites their source:

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, an organization that certifies buildings as the "World’s Tallest", recognizes a building only if at least fifty percent of its height is made up of floor plates containing habitable floor area. Structures that do not meet this criterion, such as the CN Tower, are defined as "towers".

We could relax this definition to include any structure, and then, at 553 metres, the CN Tower in Toronto would indeed be the winner (tallest outside of the US and Asia). Until recently, the CN Tower was the tallest free-standing structure in the world, now surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (828 metres). Several more are planned, although these may all be in Asia and the US, leaving the CN Tower as the correct answer to my question under this definition.

Note that there are quite a few structures (other than the Burj Khalifa, they are all radio masts supported by guy wires) taller than the CN Tower. All of them at this time are in Asia or the US, so even if we drop "self-supporting" from the requirement, the CN Tower still wins.

The only way the CN Tower does not win is if we exclude it as a "building", because it doesn't meet the definition cited above. In that case, there are three possibly winners, depending on how you measure a building's height. At 328 metres, the tallest by architectural detail is the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand. (This is the one I had in mind when I asked the question.) At 302 metres, the highest roof belongs to the Moscow Tower in the City of Capitals in Moscow. And if we use highest to pinnacle (that is, including things like antennae), then at 355 metres, First Canadian Place in Toronto is the winner.

Since the question asks "where" the building is, rather than an identification of the building, the answer I was looking for was "Auckland". But "Toronto" (for either the CN Tower or First Canadian Place) or "Moscow" would have been reasonable answers using different definitions.

If anyone wants to continue the thread with a new trivia question, go right ahead!

[KLA2]

If it takes seven technicians eleven days to assemble four helicopters, how long does it take a monkey with a brass leg to pick the seeds out of a pumpkin?

[Мастер]

I don't know. How long?

[KLA2]

75 seconds less than a watermelon. Depending on the season.

[Мастер]

Would that be 75 seconds less than for a monkey to pick the seeds out of a watermelon, or for a watermelon to pick the seeds out of a pumpkin?

[KLA2]

^ Yes.

[Мастер]

In 1999, American General Wesley Clark ordered one of his Nato subordinates to take control of Pristina Airport, Kosovo, from the Russian troops who had just arrived there. His subordinate famously disobeyed the order, invoking a NATO regulation that allowed him to do so.

Who was the subordinate, who shares his name with a well-known pop star?

[Heid the Ba]

That would be Captain Blount of the Life Guards, better known now as "Shut the fuck up you whiney twat".

[Мастер]

Bugger, my question is broken.

Blount is indeed the recipient of the order. Who was his boss, who backed his refusal of the order, had his troops surround the airport, and who also shares his name with a pop star?

[Heid the Ba]

That would be PoD, aka The Prince of Darkness, aka General Mike Jackson.

Edit to add: He was known as PoD since he was/is a bit of a cunt and always seemed to take the politicians side against the Army when he was CIGS. Most of the things he did were probably correct, he just presented them in an unlikeable way.

[Мастер]

It would indeed.

Probably contributing to the confusion caused by my malformed question, is the fact that Blount is a pop star :) Not so famous as Michael Jackson (the pop star for sure, and possibly also the general) though.

Your turn!

[Heid the Ba]

I misread the question on the Blount/Blunt point and didn't think it through.

Qusestion to follow.

[Heid the Ba]

What or who is "kayfabe"?

[Heid the Ba]

It is to do with prefessional wrestling.

[Мастер]

I Googled.

[Heid the Ba]

As you were the only one interested enough to google, over to you.

Edit : typo