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Construction of the Virginia headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense began on September 11th, 1941 - spookily, the same date it was attacked by al-Qaeda six decades later.\xa0\nThe massive five-sided building, a potent symbol of America\u2019s military strength, became known as the Pentagon.\nFeaturing 4 million square feet of office space, the building was designed by George Bergstrom under the supervision of Leslie R. Groves, who was later chosen to head the Manhattan Project and build the atomic bomb.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca, and Olly explain why the building\u2019s racially segregated bathrooms were installed, but never used; reveal why, for a while, a \u2018Pentagon project\u2019 became a by-word for a white elephant; and consider whether a hot dog stand in the complex foxed the Soviets\u2026\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\n\u201810 Things You Probably Didn\u2019t Know About the Pentagon\u2019 (U.S. Department of Defense, 2019): https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/1650913/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-pentagon/\n\n\n\u2018Pentagon Hot Dog Stand \u2013 Arlington, Virginia\u2019 (Atlas Obscura, 2017): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pentagon-hot-dog-stand\n\n\n\u2022 \u2018FOX Business reveals 'stunning' new details about Pentagon's construction\u2019 (FOX Business, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tK6gIsMAgc\n#US #WW2 #Architecture\xa0\nLove the show? Join\xa0\U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS\xa0\U0001f334 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!\nPlus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.\nJoin now via\xa0Apple Podcasts\xa0or\xa0Patreon.\xa0Thanks!\npodfollow.com/Retrospectors\n\xa0\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices