[HN Gopher] World's Littlest Skyscraper
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       World's Littlest Skyscraper
        
       Author : benbreen
       Score  : 34 points
       Date   : 2021-03-13 06:38 UTC (16 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (en.wikipedia.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (en.wikipedia.org)
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | ben_w wrote:
       | I wonder if "Tom Scott did a video on this" is the new "Simpsons
       | already did it"?
       | 
       | https://youtu.be/xGQgmmrXONk
       | 
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpsons_Already_Did_It
        
       | paulhart wrote:
       | Spinal Tap called...
        
       | xwdv wrote:
       | A millionaire's wife bought it once to save it from being
       | demolished.
        
       | djoldman wrote:
       | > The key to McMahon's swindle, and his successful defense in the
       | ensuing lawsuit was that legal documents listed the height as
       | 480" as opposed to 480'. Investors didn't seem to notice, and
       | McMahon never verbally stated that the actual height of the
       | building would be 480 feet (150 m).[2][15][16] The proposed
       | skyscraper depicted in the blueprints that he distributed (and
       | which were approved by the investors) was clearly labeled as
       | consisting of four floors and 480 inches (12 m)
        
         | jamesgreenleaf wrote:
         | That's one expensive apostrophe.
         | 
         | I wonder if similar scams via smart-contracts exist yet.
        
         | Judgmentality wrote:
         | I feel like mistaking " for ' is understandable, but how do you
         | not notice 4 floors when you're expecting 40?
        
           | eddieh wrote:
           | Easy "The building will consist of 4Occupied floors."
           | Especially since at the time old-style numerals were common
           | and the number would look more like "4o" anyway. Just put a
           | small space between the 4 and the lowercase o--just enough to
           | be legally ambiguous.
        
           | simonebrunozzi wrote:
           | Too late, investors already gave him money by then.
        
             | Judgmentality wrote:
             | I'm not sure when they gave him the money, but it
             | specifically mentions the investors approved the blueprints
             | with only 4 floors.
             | 
             | I understand people can be lazy and make mistakes, but
             | that's pretty egregious.
        
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       (page generated 2021-03-13 23:00 UTC)