More than I ever wanted to know...

...about the engineering of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers is what I'm reading in preparation for my paper. I've learned about different kinds of loads (lateral, gravity and wind loads), slurry walls, and the difference between heat and temperature (well, not that I completely understand the thermaldynamics of it). I've also learned that 60 workers were killed in construction accidents while the WTC was being built.

But perhaps the most notable bit of information I've come across in my research is that ownership of the WTC was transferred to a group of investors headed by Larry Silverstein, a guy who already controlled more than 8 million square feet of NYC real estate. So what's interesting about that, you ask? How about that this all happened on July 24, 2001, just six weeks before the terrorist attack, and that Silverstein not only got $98 million out of his original $124 million down payment back after 9/11, but he also got two times the payout from the insurance carriers because two planes hit the buildings, and a jury considered them separate occurences. Plus, he received $861 million in insurance claims for WTC 7, which also collapsed that day, even though he only paid $386 million for it. That's a profit of about $500 million. Further, Silverstein gets to keep the "ground zero" property to rebuild on it.

How's that for a return on investment? It's no wonder conspiracy theories abound.