Editing 3058: Tall Structures

{{comic
| number    = 3058
| date      = March 3, 2025
| title     = Tall Structures
| image     = tall_structures_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x430px
| noexpand  = true
| titletext = Briefly set a new record for tallest human-made structure by getting my knit sweater snagged on the skydiving plane door as I jumped and not noticing until I'd landed.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT ON TOP OF A SPACE ELEVATOR - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is a comparison of various tall buildings and structures, ranging from a {{w|pyramid of Giza}} to the {{w|Burj Khalifa}}, sorted by increasing height. The pyramid of Giza was the tallest structure in the ancient world, and the Burj Khalifa is broadly acknowledged as the tallest building in the world. When comparing the tallest structures of various types, the question of definitions often becomes important. Some definitions define the heights of buildings to their highest occupied floor, while others including all permanent structures, including spires and antennae on top of the building (which may comprise a significant portion of the building's height). There's also the question of whether structures need to be self-supporting to be counted, since structures such as antennae may be extremely tall, but only stay up with the help of {{w|guy-wires}}.

In this comic, [[Randall]] seems to take the broadest possible definition, apparently defining a "structure" as any artificial construct with continuous extent from the ground to its height. The comic then demonstrates how ludicrous such a broad definition becomes, by portraying a "random {{w|aerostat}}", tethered to the ground by a long cable, which is by far the tallest structure on the chart, significantly exceeding the height of the Burj Khalifa.

An aerostat is a lighter-than-air aircraft that can be tethered to the ground. A {{w|kite balloon}} (or {{w|kytoon}}) is a variant of the aerostat where the balloon body includes a lifting-body or kite design for additional lift. It is more stable than a balloon in winds and tends to hold its position above the tether. This is the main joke of the comic, since as long as it is tethered to the ground and is higher than the Burj Khalifa, it could be considered the tallest man-made structure. Since aerostats (and similar tethered flying objects) are generally not counted as "structures", this points out that, without agreed-upon and restrictive definitions, the question of what's tallest quickly becomes meaningless. There is a {{w|Compliant tower|class of structures}}, typically seen in oil platforms, that are "medium supported" and that use buoyancy to stand 'tall' above their anchored deep-sea end in an otherwise freestanding manner; there are clear parallels to the concept of a tethered balloon, and {{w|Petronius (oil platform)|one such structure}} had indeed been touted by some as the "tallest free-standing structure" up until the Burj Khalifa physically surpassed it.

The comic doesn't accurately depict the world record for how high tethered aerostats can actually fly (4880&nbsp;meters, achieved on 23 September 2014, close to 6 times the height of Burj Khalifa), which would either dwarf the other buildings or make the comic very tall, but since it is just some random aerostat flying at that time that is shown, this may be at a much lower height.

The title text takes this point even further, claiming that Randall once skydived out of an airplane wearing a knit sweater, which caught on the airplane door, and presumably unraveled as he descended. The implication being that the yarn unraveled without breaking during his entire descent. When he reached the ground, the long thread presumably extended from his body up to the plane (typically 8,000 to 14,000 feet, or 2,400 to 4,300 m, above the ground). For the tiny moment between when he hit the ground and when the thread snapped or came loose (since the plane was still moving), this would "briefly" form a structure, under the broadest possible definition, and would therefore set a new record. This is not realistically feasible, since knit tops usually only use around 1000 m (3280 ft) of yarn if knit using thin fingerling weight yarn. However, a sweater knit at a T-shirt density could, in principle, use over 2000 m (6561 ft) of yarn, which (assuming it hasn't started felting) is enough to extend to skydiving height.

===Table of structures in the comic===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name !! Height !! {{w|List_of_tallest_buildings_and_structures#History|Tallest structure}} !! Explanation
|-
| {{w|Great Pyramid of Giza|The Great Pyramid}} (Giza) || 137&nbsp;m (449.5&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" data-sort-value="-2570" | c. 2570 BCE–1311 CE || A famous pyramid built c. 2570 BC
|-
| {{w|The Shard}} (London) || 309.6&nbsp;m (1,016&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" | – || A skyscraper with steeply angled sides, the tallest 'habitable freestanding structure' in the UK.
|-
| The {{w|Eiffel Tower}} (Paris) || 330&nbsp;m (1,083&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" | 1889–1930 || A wrought-iron lattice tower named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel
|-
| The {{w|Empire State Building}} (New York) || 443.2&nbsp;m (1,454&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" | 1931–1967 || An art-deco office tower often seen in media
|-
| The {{w|CN Tower}} (Toronto) || 553.3&nbsp;m (1,815&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" | 1975–2007 || A communication and observation tower in Canada
|-
| {{w|The Clock Towers}} (Mecca) || 601&nbsp;m (1,972&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" | – || A hotel complex featuring the largest clock in the world
|-
| {{w|KRDK-TV mast}} (North Dakota) || 630&nbsp;m (2,060&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" | – || Current tallest structure in the United States ({{w|KVLY-TV mast
}} was previously taller)
|-
| {{w|Shanghai Tower}} (Shanghai) || 632&nbsp;m (2,073&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" | – || Tallest skyscraper in China
|-
| {{w|Tokyo Skytree}} (Tokyo) || 634.0&nbsp;m (2,080&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" | – || Tallest tower in the world
|-
| {{w|Merdeka 118}} (Kuala Lumpur) || 678.9&nbsp;m (2,227&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" | – || A skyscraper with diamond-shaped facades
|-
| {{w|Burj Khalifa}} (Dubai) || 828&nbsp;m (2,717&nbsp;ft) || style="text-align:center" | 2007–present || Tallest structure in the world
|-
| Some random {{w|aerostat}} that happens to be operating today || ~1,280&nbsp;m (4,200&nbsp;ft) (Depicted)<br>{{w|Tethered Aerostat Radar System#System|~4,600&nbsp;m (15,000&nbsp;ft)}} (Actual) || style="text-align:center" | Varies || The main joke in the comic
|}

==Transcript==

:[Labels below structures shown in a black silhouette, from left to right, shortest to tallest:]
:The Great Pyramid (Giza)
:The Shard (London)
:The Eiffel Tower (Paris)
:The Empire State Building (New York)
:The CN Tower (Toronto)
:The Clock Towers (Mecca)
:KRDK-TV Mast (North Dakota)
:Shanghai Tower
:Tokyo Skytree
:Merdeka 118 (Kuala Lumpur)
:Burj Khalifa (Dubai)
:Some random aerostat that happens to be operating today

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest artificial structure, but only on days when no one is flying a high-altitude kite balloon aerostat.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Aviation]]