 In 1931, the Empire State Building finished construction, towering over the streets of Manhattan and not only stood as the tallest building on the island, but in all the world. A feat of engineering and willpower, it maintained its crown for another four decades, until it was finally overtaken by the One World Trade Center in 1972. Since then, four new buildings have taken up the mantle, with the Burj Khalifa in Dubai holding the current title since 2010. But with nearly a decade in the spotlight, many have started questioning the point of ever increasing towers. For God's sake, look at the Burj Khalifa, it's more than twice the height of any other building in the city. Is there really a point to building these megastructures, and is it really worth the enormous costs? For thousands of years following its construction, the Great Pyramid of Giza stood as the world's tallest man-made object from 2500 BC until it was finally overtaken in the 13th century by St. Paul's Cathedral in London. For the next 700 years, the tallest building remained various churches and cathedrals spread throughout Western Europe, mostly in France, England, and Germany, each just a few percent taller than the last. Literally, between the nine buildings that overtook the mantle as the world's tallest in those 700 years, the total height only moved up 41 feet, averaging 4.5 feet per new building, and not even an inch per year. This all changed in the early 1900s as a wave of technological advancements such as new milling techniques that allowed for stronger steel reinforcements, the newly patented sprinkler head which allowed buildings to escape the strict 23-meter height limit meant to control the risks of fire, and probably, most importantly, the invention of the electric elevator, allowed for an explosive growth in early skyscrapers. For the first few decades of the 1900s, the mantra of the world's tallest building passed around six towers in New York City before being topped off by the Empire State Building. The rapid rise of these skyscrapers in New York City made a lot of sense. The city was densely populated, and Manhattan was, well, an island, so there wasn't much room to go outwards, and so the population growth was pushed upwards. The race upward was almost comical. As New York's economy boomed like never before, builders were in a mad dash to wreck the world's tallest skyscraper. The main competition was between the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, and both towers were constantly trying to best each other by adding more floors to their design. Upon learning that the Empire State Building would be a thousand feet tall, Chrysler changed his plans a final time and fixed a stainless steel spire to the top of his skyscraper. That new addition saw the building soar to a record 1048 feet, but unfortunately for Chrysler, the developers of the Empire State Building returned with an even taller line. When completed in 1931, it towered 1250 feet above the streets of Midtown Manhattan, and it would remain the world's tallest building for nearly 40 years until the completion of the One World Trade Center in 1970. But what brought this roaring building race to a halt? Well, it was the economics. For a long time, the Empire State Building was considered a financial flop. It was primarily designed to house corporate offices, but its opening was underscored by the stock market crash of 1929 and the onset of the Great Depression. At the building's opening, less than a quarter of the building's retail space was occupied, earning it the nickname the Empty State Building. It wasn't until World War II, more than a decade after opening, that the building finally became profitable. The extreme risk the Empire State Building highlighted in building these megatowers kept most of the world's daring engineers, or at least the bankers who financed them, at bay for 40 years before America built the One World Trade Center followed by the Sears Tower. Then, not wanting to miss out on all the fun, developing countries jumped into the ring, first with Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Tower, then Taipei's 101, and most recently the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the first building to top over 2,000 feet. These latest additions weren't spurred by population pressures like in the United States, so much as these recently poor countries trying to propel themselves onto the global stage, and they've been largely successful. The Burj Khalifa cost developers $1.5 billion to construct over the course of 5 years, but now makes more than that in pure profit every year, between its 37 floors of office space, 900 luxury apartments, and its nearly 2 million tourists it attracts annually. But building these megastructures isn't easy. If you've ever driven by a construction site, you know most multi-story buildings use cranes to lift supplies as the building is constructed, but the world's tallest crane isn't even a fifth the height of the Burj Khalifa. Even relatively simple tasks like pumping cement to the construction floors gets exponentially more difficult when you think about the sheer forces required to pump it up thousands of feet in the air. Then, we have to come up with materials that can support the immense weight of the building, and perform extensive wind tunnel testing to make sure the world's tallest building won't come toppling over with a strong gust of wind, or for the Burj Khalifa during one of the country's tens of sandstorms it sees every year. But if these megastructures are so profitable, why has the Burj Khalifa stood unrivaled for more than a decade? Well, it comes down to complication, cost, and risk. The Burj Khalifa took 5 years and an enormous upfront investment, so as a developer you have to hope not only is there not a market downturn in the years you spend building, but also for years after as you work to fill the building. And historically, a decade without a market downturn isn't the safest bet for a multi-billion dollar project. And not just anywhere it can build the world's tallest building. First, there needs to be a large, unfulfilled demand for office space in the city. Then, the location needs to be able to support the logistics of intrusive construction for years, something that New York City or London city centers might not want to deal with. And you need some place with strong bedrock without much in the way of extreme weather or natural disasters that can threaten the building. All these logistical and geographical problems keep most of Europe, North America, and Asia from joining the competition. Still, one of Dubai's neighbors appears to be challenging their title. The Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia is planned to top out at just over 1 kilometer above the streets of Jeddah. I know, what a creative name. The designer of the building, who also designed the Burj Khalifa, plans to finish the building by 2024, but construction was halted back in 2018, surrounding questions that the ground wasn't strong enough to support the immense weight of the building, and construction hasn't continued since. Despite all the potential profit and publicity, as it stands, no other country has concrete plans to attempt to steal this record. And as buildings push even higher and the technical hurdles grow, the justification for these superstructures has all but disappeared. So it may be a long time before we see an even taller tower. If you liked the video, don't forget to subscribe with notifications on so you never miss an upload. And remember, there is always more to learn.