Taipei 101 Observatory

This guide to the Taipei 101 Observatory opens with the March 2002 earthquake that tore two construction cranes loose from the half-built tower, killing five workers on a building already being called too tall and too close to a major fault line. It walks through the engineering answer that followed: a golden steel sphere hung between the 87th and 92nd floors, built to counter the sway of wind and tremors. You'll hear how the ball's designers calculated the motion it needed to cancel out, and how it compares to other structures built to survive Taiwan's earthquakes and typhoons. Look up as you enter to spot it swinging overhead.