33 Facts About 9/11 Attacks

Do you remember the 9/11 attacks; as if it just happened yesterday? Do you remember the shocking news; spreading like a wildfire, the crying of the people on losing their loved ones, that speech of President Bush, the struggle of common people and firefighters to stop that everlasting fire? How can anyone ever forget that site on their TV screens; seeing one of the strongest countries witnessing the biggest ever terrorist attack? Here are some facts about 9/11 worth knowing:

Nine ElevenImage: thankevann.com

1. The Original Plan!

Nine Eleven Planning

The Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda had initially conspired about attacking the Nuclear power plants on 9/11, but they then decided to ditch the plan for they thought that things might get out of control. Nevertheless, they decided to target 4 locations by hijacking four airlines. Two planes flew into the twin towers of the WTC in New York City, the third plane hit the Pentagon outside Washington D.C., and the fourth one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
Source: history.com, Image: Wikimedia

2. Did President Bush Aware of the Attacks! 

George W Bush Interacting With The Students of Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Florida Hours Before the Nine Eleven Attacks
George W Bush Interacting With The Students of Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Florida Hours Before the Nine Eleven Attacks

A month before the sad tragedy, the then US President, George W. Bush received a memo, which stated that Bin Laden would be targeting the New York City and hijacking planes. The report was titled “Bin Laden determined to strike in the US”. Creepy enough, isn’t it?
Source: cnn.com, Image: Wikimedia

3. Full of Chaos, Smoke, and Body Parts

Nine Eleven Victims Helping Each Other
Nine Eleven Victims Helping Each Other

Only 18 people were rescued alive from the shocking 1.4 million tons of World Trade Center debris after this heinous incident. The rescue teams, which also included rescue dogs, recovered 19,435 body parts.
Source: thesun.co.uk, Image: Wikimedia

4. The Fraud Survivor

Tania Head The Hoax Survivor of Nine Eleven
Tania Head The Hoax Survivor of Nine Eleven

A Spanish woman named Alicia Esteve Head, also known as Tania Head, claimed to be a survivor of the 9/11 attacks who also joined the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network support group, later becoming its president. Her survival story, as shared over the years with reporters, students, friends and hundreds of visitors to ground zero, became popular across the globe. In her story, she described that in the attacks, she was badly burned and had to crawl through the chaos and carnage on the 78th floor when she was rescued by a volunteer. Later, it was found that her story was a hoax; moreover, she wasn’t even in New York on the day of the attacks; rather, she was in her native Barcelona.
Source: nytimes.com, Image: nytimes.com

5. No Plane Hit That Tower!

Tower 7

To this day, many people believe that only the two “twin towers” of World Trade Center that were hit by the hijacked planes fell and crashed, but, a third tower, a 47-story building, called the Tower 7, also collapsed into its own footprint at the speed of a free fall. Remember, Tower 7 wasn’t even hit by any plane, and still, it collapsed like the twin towers within a few minutes.
Source: bbc.co.uk

6. The Secret Office is No More Secret!

Tower 7 of WTC

A secret office operated by the CIA was also destroyed in the attacks. The undercover station was in 7 World Trade Center.
Source: cbsnews.com, Image: Wikimedia

7. Media Reports Mischief

Almost an entirely shocking thing to hear, all the major news channels, BBC, CNN, FOX, and MSNBC reported the collapse of Tower 7 even before it actually collapsed. The reporter of BBC was reporting the collapsing of the third tower while showing the live footage of the scene, but the tower was seen standing intact in the camera.
Source: thefreethoughtproject.com, Video: YouTube

8. The Curious Case of Hijackers!

Nine Eleven Hijackers

The alleged 19 hijackers of the attack, including Mohammad Atta being the leader, were never even identified in the investigations that followed the events of 9/11. According to some reports of mainstream media, at least seven FBI named perpetrators are still alive and free.
Source: nypost.com, Image: imgur.com

9. Suspects Could Have Been Identified

In fact, the actor James Woods had reported 4 suspicious individuals in his flight on August 2011, but the authorities never acted on his claim and those suspected later turned out to be the 9/11 hijackers.
Source: snopes.com, Video: YouTube

10. Michael Jackson Had a Narrow Escape

Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson

The king of pop, Michael Jackson coincidentally had a meeting scheduled at the twin towers of the World Trade Center on the day of 9/11 attacks, but he overslept and missed the meeting, thus retaining the gift of life.
Source: mirror.co.uk, Image: Flickr

11. A Huge Loss of Art Work

Alexander Calder Sculpture, Bent Propeller Outside the World Trade Center
Alexander Calder Sculpture, Bent Propeller Outside the World Trade Center

The attacks of 9/11 also incurred a loss of US $100 million in artwork to the US Government, which also included the work of Pablo Picasso and the iconic Alexander Calder sculpture, ‘Bent Propelle,’ outside the World Trade Center.
Source: nypost.com, Image: pinimg.com

12. Live Footage

Nine Eleven Live Footage

Although the video footage and accounts of the WTC attack aired immediately after the first plane hit the North Tower, no video footage of the Pentagon attack and Pennsylvania crash was publicly released until 2006.
Source: cbsnews.com

13. It Took 100 Days to Extinguish the Fire!

It took the firefighters a total of 100 days to completely extinguish the fire ignited by the attacks. Due to the collapsing of the Twin Towers, tons of toxic debris containing contaminants and carcinogens was spread in the air, resulting in devitalizing illness and high death toll. An estimated 18,000 people developed diseases due to inhalation of toxic dust from fire and debris.
Source: theguardian.com, GIF: tumblr.com

14. The Unsung Hero

roselle with medal
Roselle with medal

Amid the smoke and noise all around, a guide dog patiently saved her owner and 30 more people by helping them step out of the World Trade Center. The dog also rescued a lady who had turned blind because of debris.
Source: Wikipedia, Image: motleynews.net

15. Was it a Fault of American Airlines?

The American Airlines was taken to court by an investment bank which lost its 75% of the employees in the 9/11 attack for their negligence in allowing the terrorists to board. Moreover, the investment bank won the case with $135 million as the settlement amount.
Source: nytimes.com, GIF: freight.cargo.site

16. The Disappointed Dogs

After the attacks, the rescue dogs found very few people alive and got very disappointed and stressed. In order to keep their spirits high the dog trainers used to plan mock “lives” so that they felt satisfied.
Source: telegraph.co.uk, GIF: giphy.com

17. The Iconic Flag Raising!

Just after the attacks on the Twin Towers, firefighters Dan McWilliams, George Johnson and Billy Eisengrein raised a flag at ground zero in New York. The event was immortalized by Thomas E. Franklin. Now, it has become one of the most iconic photographs in American History.
Source: washingtonpost.com, Image: pinimg.com

18. The Economy of 9/11

Nine Eleven Economy

There is a complex Economy involved in the 9/11 attacks. The economic impact of the attacks can be understood by the following figures:

      • $500,000- cost to plan and execute the 9/11 attacks
      • $123 billion- economic loss during the first 4 weeks due to declining airline travel
      • $60 billion- cost of the WTC site damage
      • $40 billion- Value of the “Emergency Anti-Terrorism Package” approved by the US Congress
      • $15 billion- Bailout package to the airlines by the US Congress
      • $9.3 billion- Insurance claims

    Source: edition.cnn.com, Image: communitycurrency.org

    19. A Rise in Birth Rate

    After 9 months of the 9/11 attacks, the number of births rose by 20% in New York City. According to reports, 3,051 children lost a parent in the 9/11 attacks.
    Source: telegraph.co.uk

    20. A Rise in Alcohol Consumption and Drug Abuse

    Nine Eleven After Effects

    After the 9/11 attacks, it was found in a survey that people had developed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and started taking drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, as a result, their respective consumption rose by a significant percentage.
    Source: headsup.scholastic.com, Image: headsup.scholastic.com

    21. The Timeline of 9/11

    Nine Eleven Timeline
    Image: telegraph.co.uk

    22. Casualties of the September 11 Attacks

    According to official sources, a total of 2,977 people were killed in New York City, Washington, DC and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
    Source: CNN, GIF: gfycat.com

    23. 9/11 Related Sickness Killed More Cops Than the Actual Attack

    Following the September 11 terrorist attack, 23 New York City first responders lost their lives and almost two decades since the attacks, 10 times as many police officers have died from 9/11-related sickness than perished in the actual attack.
    Source: insider.com, GIF: giphy.com

    24. A Machine Had Predicted About The Attacks

    Well! It may sound like a sci-fi film’s script, but it’s a fact that a machine called a Random Event Generator at Princeton University had predicted a cataclysmic event was about to unfold; three hours before that attacks.
    Source: bluewatercredit.com

    25. Men Suffered the Most

    Of the total fatalities, approximately 75-80% of the victims were men.
    Source: CNN

    26. It All Took Only 102 Minutes

    The total time between the first attack, which took place at 8:46 a.m. ET, when American Airlines Flight 11 (traveling from Boston to Los Angeles) strikes the north tower of the World Trade Center and the collapse of both World Trade Center towers, when at 10:28 a.m. ET North tower of WTC collapsed is 102 minutes.
    Source: CNN, GIF: gfycat.com

    27. The Iconic Address of President Bush

    Although President Bush made an official address to the nation on the day of the attacks, his most celebrated address was ob Septemeber 14, 2001, when he visited the ground zero where he encourages the rescue team and hailed the American spirit to get united in the hours of need.
    Source: reuters.com, Video: US National Archives

    28. A Patriot Day

    Nine Eleven Patriot Day
    Nine Eleven Patriot Day

    On October 25, 2001, the Bush Government introduced a bill in the U.S. House to make September 11 a national day of mourning, and the bill passed the Senate unanimously on November 30. Using the authority of the resolution, President Bush proclaimed September 11, 2002, as the first Patriot Day. Since then, it has been observed on every anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
    Source: nytimes.com, Image: Flickr

    29. Cleanup at Ground Zero

    The Cleanup Drive at Ground Zero
    The Cleanup Drive at Ground Zero

    After 3.1 million hours of labor to clean up 1.8 million tons of debris, the cleanup drive at Ground Zero was officially ended on May 30, 2002. The cleanup drive at Ground Zero cost $750 million.
    Source: CNN, Image: Wikimedia

    30. A Permanent National Emergency

    Ever since the September 11 attacks, the United States has been in a state of national emergency.
    Source: federalregister.gov

    31. Saudi Arabia’s Involvement in the Attacks

    Although the Saudi Government has always denied its connection to the hijackers, some pieces of evidence prove its involvement in the September 11 attacks.
    Source: foreignpolicy.com

    32. It Took Almost 4 Years to al-Qaeda to Take the Responsibility of the Attacks

    Initially, Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda’s leader, denied any involvement in the attacks; however, in 2004, in a message aired on an Arabic TV station, he claimed direct responsibility for the 2001 attacks against the United States.
    Source: cbc.ca

    33. Missed the footage of 9/11? See it here:


    video: YouTube