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I recently developed an interest in very tall structures when I found out that the tallest supported structure in the world is not far from me: it’s in North Dakota. This structure is not freestanding, it is a guyed radio tower called the KVLY-TV mast that broadcasts to an area of 22,686 square miles (for comparison, this is more than two states of Massachusetts). For further comparison, the mast is 628.8m high: compare to the current tallest building in the world, Tapei 101, at 508m. That said, since I was overdue for a hair-brained idea, I’ve decided to drive over and see this thing up close this summer (and photograph it). We’ll put somone tall next to it for scale … even though it looks like you have to get literally about a mile away to get the entire mast in your camera viewfinder. Before I leave this topic and move on to the tangential research it inspired, I must note an interesting tidbit about the tower: the top is, apparently, accessible by “service elevator or ladder.” Is it just me, or does it seem like a really bad idea to climb a ladder that is 2,063 (4 tenths of a mile) high? Goodness.

Continued…

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