Towers of Babel and What’s a Cubit?
posted by Deven Desai
Burj Dubai is close to being complete. It will be the world’s tallest building (although some debate how to evaluate that title). So is it a Tower of Babel? Depends on who you ask? As a matter of hubris or monument’s to humanity’s glory, maybe so. After all even the wealthy world of Dubai is having real estate problems. Even if it is not some cosmic moment of vanity, the Burj Dubai is only around a half mile tall (they won’t give the exact height). Only? Well, yes, only. According to Wikipedia, the Tower of Babel may have been only “463 cubits (696 feet or 212 meters)” or by some estimates “5433 cubits and 2 palms, or nearly 2.5 kilometers (about 1.55 miles)” or “4,000 paces high (5,920 m (19,423 ft)) and 1,000 paces thick, and each pace is three of our feet” or “5164 paces high, about 7.6 kilometers” or “7000 feet or 2 kilometres.” So no one seems to know exactly how tall the Tower was, but almost everyone seems to think we have a long way to go until we reach the Tower’s height.
Still, to riff a little: “5433 cubits high? Right. What’s a cubit?” See below for a discussion about another public works project of the ancient era. And if you don’t know/have the routine, buy it. Seriously, it is brilliant.
For those who want to see the building the ABC story has a good video.
March 9, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Posted in: Humor
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Responses (4)
Bruce Boyden - March 10, 2009 at 11:51 am
I’ve been reciting parts of the Noah bit since seeing it once on TV, probably 25 years ago. But I recall that the video was part of the appeal — Cosby did a lot of pantomiming that was pretty funny.
Syd - March 10, 2009 at 5:47 pm
The list of tallest structures includes the Millau Viaduct, which is seriously awesome. But then, so is the Burj Dubai. Now remember, if there’s a fire, don’t take the elevators, take the stairs.
Deven - March 12, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Syd,
Excellent point and rather funny too.
SkyscraperMan - October 5, 2009 at 5:35 am
The Burj Dubai is a marvel of modern engineering that stands at 818 metres tall. The Burj Dubai will have its grand opening on the 1st of December of this year.
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