That is nothing compared to some of the shoddy construction and poor products one could find in cities like New York, Chicago, and St. Louis near the turn of the 20th century and even in rapidly industrializing Britain a bit earlier.
But don't you think a major difference in the world is that when we industrialized, the rest of the world wasn't? I mean, if the US looked today like it did back then it would not be a good sign of inevitable progress, it would be a sign of being way behind. I admit I'm talking about something I don't know much about, but I'm very suspicious of "asia ascendent" stories. They tend to be quite popular with liberals and conservatives, which leaves fewer people to fact check.

Quote Originally Posted by Graphic View Post
At the very least the U.S. won't be forgotten 2,000 years from now thanks to the Apollo program, America's single greatest achievement in my opinion.
How so?

The Soviets went to the moon too. Is it that much greater an achievement to get there a few years earlier?