Several days ago I commented on my personal edification as to the global problem being created by mass accumulation of leftover toilet tissue cardboard rolls. Apparently, the problem is so severe that in one year there are enough of these rolls discarded to build the Empire State Building twice. I was simply amazed. So, this got me thinking. Since the Empire State Building is in New York is this factoid therefore based on the quantity of toilet paper rolls discarded in New York City or is it those from the entire State of New York? Could it possibly be that this shocking quantity could be representative of the contributions from the United States? And if so, is this just the continental US or does it include Alaska and Hawaii? Well, what about Puerto Rico and the other US territories? If it does include US territories my concern is about those territories that lie on the other side of the International Date Line. I can only assume that since this is an annual tabulation (that is, a calendar year), in which year are those territories on the other side of the IDL included? Admittedly, I am not purvey to the toilet habits of the inhabitants of these territories in question. But logic would dictate that their habits could significantly impact the collection of accurate data. If you are going to build two new Empire State Buildings, another concern to be addressed later, having an accurate accounting of resources prior to construction would seem important. Granted, it would most likely be a joint government/private undertaking but best practices would seem to require some foresight as to will you really have enough discarded toilet paper rolls to complete the project. And would the erection of both of these new Empire State Buildings be undertaken at the same time? Wouldn’t a shared oversight of simultaneous construction be a prudent fiscal endeavor? Plus if both were constructed at the same time the impact of jobs creation could be significant. Simultaneous erection would certainly impact the rehiring of countless unemployed construction workers still impacted by the Great Recession. This would save money at the top, visa vi, management but impact the spending of a great number of our citizens. The other question is where would you build two new Empire State Buildings? Certainly not in Manhattan. Access to real estate would prohibit that. But unless you plan on changing the names of these two sky scrapers they would have to be built somewhere in New York State. It’s not that I’m opposed to changing the names of the two new Empire State Buildings, but gee whiz, New York is the Empire State. Just for consideration I have a couple suggestions. How about in Oregon? That one could be name the Beaver State Building. Or maybe Arkansas? The Natural State Building. And then there’s Indiana. The Hoosier State Building…whatever a freaking Hoosier is. But I digress. But the biggest question that struck me is just how safe is a high rise building constructed from discarded toilet paper cardboard rolls? Is that even possible? I mean, just the potential impact of rain on the structure would have to be addressed. And don’t even get me started on fire suppression. How would you secure one roll to another? You can’t use nails because the first swing of a hammer would flatten both rolls. Screws might work. But that’s a lot of screws. And is a building constructed of cardboard toilet rolls going to have elevators? You can’t expect people to climb all those stairs every day coming and going from work. Though that might help address the obesity and cardiovascular disease problems regionally. But then again building codes do require handicap accessibility accommodations. I like to think of myself as environmentally aware. But I think that before proceeding there are some serious logistical issues that, as of yet, need to be resolved. Plus, do we really need two more Empire State Buildings?
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 13:29:46 +0000
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