NIST: "Then a Miracle Occurs"

NIST's explanation for the collapse of World Trade Center 7 on September 11th follows the logic in the cartoon above.

Specifically, NIST claims that the collapse of building 7 is "the first known instance of fire causing the total collapse of a tall building".

But then goes on to argue:

"The fires in WTC 7, which were uncontrolled but otherwise similar to fires experienced in other tall buildings, caused an extraordinary event"

In fact, the fires in WTC 7 were orders of magnitude less than other high-rise fires, which did not produce collapses.

My parody from yesterday is not much sillier than NIST's real explanation.