Little Happier: A Skyscraper Crisis Holds a Valuable (and True) Lesson

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Happier with Gretchen Rubin
Episode: Little Happier: A Skyscraper Crisis Holds a Valuable (and True) Lesson
Release Date: June 8, 2026
Host: Gretchen Rubin

In this “Little Happier” mini-episode, Gretchen Rubin shares a real-life engineering story from her days in law school, drawing valuable lessons about openness, questioning, and the unending pursuit of improvement. Using the Citicorp Center skyscraper as a case study, Gretchen illustrates how a seemingly minor inquiry can have profound effects—and how creative work, like engineering, is never truly finished.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of a Curious Question

• Timestamp: 01:37 – 02:45
  • Gretchen recounts a story she learned in law school about the Citicorp Center building (now 601 Lexington Avenue) and its structural engineer, William J. LeMessurier.
  • The story centers on an engineering and architecture student who contacted LeMessurier with a question about the building’s unconventional column placement.
  • Quote (Gretchen, 01:56):

    “…a student called LeMessurier’s office with a question about why the tower support columns were at the centers of the sides rather than at the corners.”

2. Uncovering an Overlooked Danger

• Timestamp: 02:46 – 03:25
  • The student’s question prompts LeMessurier to re-examine his wind bracing logic, leading him to a worrying realization: diagonal “quartering winds” could exert dangerous pressure on the structure—especially since welded joints had been changed to bolted ones.
  • He calculates the risk: with a power outage disabling the tuned mass damper, there would be a 1 in 16 annual chance of collapse during a severe storm.
  • Emergency retrofitting is undertaken: “Citicorp and engineers arranged for steel plates to be welded over the vulnerable joints.”

3. Reevaluating the Crisis

• Timestamp: 03:25 – 03:41
  • Gretchen points out that later reassessments called into question whether the building had actually ever been in danger.
  • Quote (Gretchen, 03:34):

    “Modern wind engineering reassessments have challenged the traditional claim that the tower was actually in danger. So maybe the emergency retrofit wasn’t necessary after all.”

4. Lessons for Life and Creativity

• Timestamp: 03:41 – 04:10
  • Gretchen distills two key lessons from the story:
    • Welcoming Constructive Questions:

      “We should be willing to hear and consider constructive questions, no matter what the source.” (Gretchen, 03:45)

    • The Endless Process of Improvement:

      “Never to feel that I’m finished with something, that it’s beyond editing or improvement. I might not be able to make a change to a published book, but in my mind and in my notes, I can continue to perfect my thoughts and words.” (Gretchen, 03:56)

  • The episode closes with her signature well-wish:

    “I’m Gretchen Rubin, and I hope this makes your week a little happier.” (Gretchen, 04:07)

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• A student’s simple question sparks major inquiry:

  “…thinking about this student’s question got LeMessurier to consider the wind bracing logic of the building, and when he did, he found something alarming.” (Gretchen, 02:05)

• Emphasis on humility and openness:

  “We should be willing to hear and consider constructive questions no matter what the source.” (Gretchen, 03:45)

• Creativity as an ongoing process:

  “…never to feel that I’m finished with something, that it’s beyond editing or improvement.” (Gretchen, 03:51)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:37: Episode proper begins; Gretchen introduces the Citicorp Center anecdote
• 02:05: The student’s question leads to re-examination of engineering assumptions
• 02:45: Discovery of potential structural danger and steps taken to address it
• 03:25: Later reassessments question the urgency of the crisis
• 03:41: Gretchen summarizes the lessons she draws from the story
• 04:07: Episode close and Gretchen’s signature sign-off

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Tone & Style

Gretchen maintains her trademark blend of warmth, thoughtfulness, and practical insight. The story is related with curiosity and humility, and the closing advice offers concrete, actionable wisdom in a gentle, encouraging manner—a hallmark of her approach to happiness and personal growth.

Transcript

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I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier I love a teaching story. All too often these stories end up being apocryphal, but sometimes they're actually true. Here's a story I heard in law school. The version I heard was told with a lot more drama, which turned out not to be exactly accurate, but the actual story is very interesting. As the story goes, it involves the Citicorp center building here in Manhattan, not far from where I live. It's a 59 story tower now known as 601 Lexington Avenue. The structural engineer for the building was William J. Lemassurier. As the story goes, in the late 1970s, an engineering and architecture student called Le Massurier's office with a question about why the tower support columns were at the centers of the sides rather than at the corners. Thinking about this student's question got Le Massurier to consider the wind bracing logic of the building, and when he did, he found something alarming. He worried that because the tower's unusual bracing system had been calculated mainly for perpendicular winds, quartering winds, that is Diagonal winds striking two faces could put larger loads on some members. This issue became much more worrisome because the joints had been changed from welded to bolted connections. In Le Massurier's analysis, he calculated that if the tuned mass damper lost power, a severe enough storm might have a roughly 1 in 16 annual chance of causing failure. His concern was real enough that Citicorp and engineers arranged for steel plates to be welded over the vulnerable joints. Here's an interesting postscript Modern wind engineering reassessments have challenged the traditional claim that the tower was actually in danger. So maybe the emergency retrofit wasn't necessary after all. For me, this story holds a few lessons. First, we should be willing to hear and consider constructive questions no matter what the source. Second, and this is important to me as a creative person, is never to feel that I'm finished with something, that it's beyond editing or improvement. I might not be able to make a change to a published book, but in my mind and in my notes, I can continue to perfect my thoughts and words. I'm Gretchen Rubin, and I hope this makes your week a little happier.

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