Remember when the Southeast Asian nation of Malaysia laid claim to the title of "World’s Tallest Building" in 1996; daring to challenge Sears Tower's crown which had been the incumbent record holder since 1974? The Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the organization responsible for keeping track of proper building heights, back then determined in a historic announcement that Kuala Lumpur's brand new twin Petronas Towers measured 451.9 meters/1,483 feet from sidewalk to the top of their spires and were indeed the world's new reigning champions.

The CTBUH's decision was not well received in Chicago, to say the least, and a heated debate errupted whether Sears Tower's antennae should have been included in the building height determination to keep the 110-story behemoth at the top and the largely unrivaled sense of American exceptionalism intact. (The champion title has never returned to the United States since then, and Sears Tower, now Willis Tower, is currently ranked at #21.)

"You just can’t take the title of ‘world’s tallest building’ away from the Sears Tower and give it to the Petronas Twin Towers," wrote a bitterly disappointed elementary school student from the Chicago area after the decision to the Council. "It will upset the whole country…Please count the Sears Tower antennae and give the title back to Sears Tower…not just for me, my class, Mrs. Elko, but for the rest of the country, including Chicago and the Sears Tower.”

Read the fascinating reprint of the media sensation that ensued after the announcement was made 23 years ago.