Leaning Tower of Sioux Falls

It's a demoltion failure! I'd say it's an engineering success!

I have no explosives training, nor do I work with concrete, but this quote from the explosives teasm leader just doesn't seem correct:

"He said the tower didn't fall because the concrete on the west side did not remain stiff. Instead of cutting a wedge out of the east side, the explosion collapsed both sides as well as the basement foundation, leaving the building stuck like a cork in a bottle."

If the concrete didn't remain stiff wouldn't the whole thing have cracked and collapsed when it fell into the hole?

Apparently, the shock of the initial explosion softened or "fluidized" the foundation on both sides. The original intent was to cut the supports out of one side only. The west side was to remain rigid and support the west half of the building as it fell to the east. This should have sent the building tumbling to one side. Since both sides collapsed at virtually the same time the building fell straight down and did not topple to the east. In essence it was jammed into the basement like a cork in a bottle!