Slide #54 - The "Squibs" of Building 7

What Squibs Really Are

In this slide, Gage presents one of the funnier arguments used by the 9/11 Truth movement. It is an example of how they have twisted words to mean just what they want them to mean.

The word has several actual meanings.

• A small firecracker.
• A broken firecracker that burns but does not explode.
• A brief satirical or witty writing or speech, such as a lampoon.
• A short, sometimes humorous piece in a newspaper or magazine, usually used as a filler.

The term "squib" is used in the special effects industry to describe small explosive charges that are used to simulate bullet strikes. British author J.K. Rowling has used the term metaphorically in the universe of Harry Potter to describe descendants of wizarding families who have no magic of their own. These are appropriate borrowings of the term.

Squibs, however, have no application to the demolition industry. People who perform controlled demolitions do not use small firecrackers, duds or no, to bring down buildings, and only the walls of Jericho have ever proven vulnerable to human language.

Yet, amusingly enough, people in the Truth Movement continue to point to what they believe to be powerful explosive charges tearing apart a building's structure, and they have grabbed the word "squib" to describe these "explosions".

It is a wonderful confusion on their part, and I encourage the 9/11 Truth Movement to continue to use it. Everytime they do so, they demonstrate how clueless they are.

This is especially acute for licensed and degreed architects. Though Gage has abandoned this argument, he still uses it in reference to the Twin Towers, demonstrating the magnificent lunacy of his position. He really ought to know better.

The "Squibs" of 7 World Trade

Conspiracy theorists imagine that they can see explosive charges coming from Building 7, but this is not true. An examination of the grainy video closeup of these features shows that the "explosions" appear to fall with the building at exactly the same speed. If they were actually smoke, they would remain aloft in the air as the building falls away.

Indeed, the building was damaged in this area by falling debris from the North Tower:

What's happening is that the building's southern facade is ripping loose from this area of the corner. The building is twisting a bit while falling, and you can see the ripping progress right up the side.

It's so dark because of the angle of the sunlight. While the west side is catching the full sunlight of the setting sun, the north side obviously is dark. As the south facade pulls away, the north side (formerly the interior) is exposed to the camera, but not the sunlight.

The picture is quite grainy as well. This is because this video has been drastically enlarged to catch this detail of the fall. Seing the same edge in better resolution shows that the "squibs" aren't as bad as the grainy distortions leads you to believe.

Why Debunk Something Gage Has Abandoned?

Because thanks to Gage and others like him, people think that these features are indeed evidence of explosives inside WTC 7. Conspiracy theorists will continue to argue this and so it must be debunked.

It is to Gage's credit that he has abandoned this silly argument, however. It gives me hope that he can be persuaded to abandon the whole mess of this presentation. Only time will tell.

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