Maybe they used Thermite. Or space lasers. Yeah: Space lasers.

So, whaddaya think -- LIHOP or MIHOP?

If you need more background, go here. The premise of this episode made perfect sense to me when I was nine. But even then, I wondered what kind of construction project necessitated moving the ESB. A new Starbucks? Disneyland NY?

Placing a nuclear device in such a densely-populated area might seem foolish in hindsight. But, hey -- who could have foreseen that earthquake?

(An alternative theory holds that the entire "disaster" was created with special effects. The motive: Insurance fraud.)

The almost-last line of this episode bears quoting -- out loud: "Nobody knows who they are or where they come from, but come they do..." Yes. Except for John. He never came. He just stayed up, way up, for ever and ever.