the.com/destruction
the only thing easier to make than a mess and harder to undo than a tattoo
means The act or process of ruining, demolishing, or wiping something out so thoroughly it can't be restored.
from From Latin 'destructio,' from 'destruere' — to tear down — built from 'de-' (down, away) plus 'struere' (to pile up, to build). So at its root it's literally un-building: the same 'struere' that gives us 'structure' and 'construct,' run in reverse. It reached English in the 14th century by way of Old French 'destruction.'
- physics rule
- entropy means breaking is statistically favored over building
- demolition art
- controlled implosions collapse buildings in under ten seconds
- creative cousin
- economists call it creative destruction, the engine of progress
- slow version
- erosion destroys mountains grain by patient grain
- asymmetry
- one match undoes what forests grew for centuries
hiroshima atomic bombing — august 6, 1945: approximately 70,000 people killed instantly, 140,000 by year's end
mount vesuvius eruption — august 24, 79 ad: completely buried pompeii and herculaneum under volcanic ash
world trade center collapse — september 11, 2001: two 110-story towers destroyed, 2,606 deaths