Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia.

My name is Jody Avergan.

This day January 18th, 1943, construction has finally been completed on the Pentagon

Building just outside Washington, D.C.

It would be the new home for the U.S and the hub of US intelligence and war planning efforts.

I think people know that the Pentagon Building is massive, bigger underground than above,

and in keeping with one of the military strongest traditions, it was massively

over budget, originally proposed to cost $35 million. It ended up costing $75 million,

maybe much, much more, depending on where you get your numbers.

But the military had a shiny new building, one of the most iconic buildings in the country,

and it set the stage for a new era of American military might in the midst of World War II

and in the many decades since. So let's talk about the Pentagon, the building, and I'll

let our usual panel guess how many sides are on this building that we are talking

about but here is as always Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson

of Wellesley hello there hi Jody hey there unfortunately we can't do a big like bombshell myth and be like the

Pentagon actually has nine sides. No. But it's a deckagon. But I was thinking about how many something that happens when your building becomes the

stand in for your organization right now we refer to, what is that?

It's called a metonym.

A benonym?

A benonym when a place or a building stands in for an institution.

That's not sectaky.

Svetichy is related. It's similar.

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