Envelope #6: Skinniest tower, ever

Happy Thursday! This is Back of the Envelope – where I share fun SE stuff that you can read in less than 5 minutes.

(Today's estimated read time = 4 minutes and 30 seconds)

Have you ever set a pencil down vertically on the table to pretend it's a skyscraper, only to then shake that table violently (or blow on it) to knock it down? (you monster)

A standard #2 pencil has a diameter of 0.28 inches, and a length of 7.48 inches -- making your skyscraper's aspect ratio equal to about 1:27.

Turns out that they've actually built one of these pencil towers...

When I first saw this picture of 111 West 57th Street (aka Steinway Tower), I thought it was perhaps Photoshopped.

(source: 111w57.com)

Except… it's real life, not fantasy.

With a width of 59 ft and a height of 1,428 ft, its ratio is about 1:24 – making it the slenderest tower ever built (so far).

You probably have a lot of questions, such as: