Empire State Building Legend Essay

Words: 679
Pages: 3

Urban legends, or myths, are relatively believable statements or stories that have been around for a long time. Many people have told, or have been told, the following urban legend: The Empire State building is so tall that if someone were to drop a penny off from the top of it, the penny could kill someone (Finkelstein). Due to the height of the Empire State building, it may sound like a reasonable statement. This legend however, along with many other common told legends is untrue, but there is some truth to the statement. By looking at factual evidence, one can see that a single penny can only cause minor pain to a person’s head, while an entire roll of pennies could very well kill someone.
The Empire state building is “in central Manhattan, New York City, on fifth ave. between 33rd st. and 34th st.”(“Empire State Building”). For several years the Empire State building was the tallest building in the world, with a height of 1,250 ft. and 102 floors. The office building has about 25,000 tenants, and on a clear day you can see a circumference of land nearly 200 miles. “The construction of the world trade center ended it reign as the world's highest sky scraper until the misfortunate destruction of the building by a terrorist attack” (“Empire State Building”).
If a person were to throw a penny off the Empire State Building it would not
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With evidence and knowledge gained from physics studies, it is easier to understand why the penny could not kill a person if it fell. After finding out the truth behind the legend, and learning new facts, people can tell one another the improved facts about dropping a roll of pennies off the Empire State Building. In this case, the legend, although it sounds reasonable is not completely