4
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Don't take me so literal,
I never damaged the view.

I've a number of friends
Well.... More than a few.

My father was in insurance,
in a city of du Sable.

He wasn't very tall, sure
But he did what he was meant

A famous brother never sleeps
in a borough oft unable.

He's intended to be the one
to whom charges should be sent.

A new device was once created
A man named Otis paved the way

To help you move around inside
You use it to this very day

Who am I?

Improve this question
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3
  • $\begingroup$ Well I definitely get a lot of the hints, but not sure of the answer... gotta resort to google. $\endgroup$
    – Z. Dailey
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:22
  • $\begingroup$ got it... posting now $\endgroup$
    – Z. Dailey
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:28
  • $\begingroup$ Yeah, this puzzle took quite a bit of research to put together. There are a LOT of websites out there with false information about these things. Nearly everytime I double-checked a fact, it was false. $\endgroup$
    – Khale_Kitha
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:49

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
4
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You are:

A skyscraper

Don't take me so literal,
I never damaged the view.

You're not actually hurting the sky.

I've a number of friends
Well.... More than a few.

There are now tons of skyscrapers.

My father was in insurance,
in a city of du Sable.

The first skyscraper was Home Insurance Building in Chicago which was founded by Jean Baptiste Point du Sable.

He wasn't very tall, sure
But he did what he was meant

It wasn't very tall, but for it's time it was impressive and led the way for tall buildings.

A famous brother never sleeps
in a borough oft unable.

Famous people stay and work in skyscrapers.

He's intended to be the one
to whom charges should be sent.

@TrevorPowell credit on the lightning strikes the highest points.

A new device was once created A man named Otis paved the way

Otis elevators allowed for people to travel up and down floors quickly.

To help you move around inside
You use it to this very day

Elevators are in just about every building that's 2 or more floors now.

Improve this answer
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11
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I couldn't find the du Sable reference. Good job. $\endgroup$
    – C. Tewalt
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:34
  • $\begingroup$ I'm just not sure on those 2 stanzas except maybe wealthy people live and work in skyscrapers? $\endgroup$
    – Z. Dailey
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:34
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ "He's intended to be the one to whom charges should be sent" is probably a reference to lightning (an electric charge) tending to hit the tallest thing in an area? $\endgroup$
    – Trevor Powell
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:38
  • $\begingroup$ Ah... nice catch @TrevorPowell $\endgroup$
    – Z. Dailey
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:39
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ "A famous brother never sleeps in a borough oft unable." is presumably referring to one of the skyscrapers in New York City ("The City That Doesn't Sleep", according to Sinatra's song). The Empire State Building is most likely the one being referred to. $\endgroup$
    – Trevor Powell
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:47
2
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It sounds like it could be

a skyscraper

Because

Don't take me so literal,
I never damaged the view

Doesn't literally scrape the sky.

I've a number of friends
Well.... More than a few.

There are lots of them.

My father was in insurance,
in a city of du Sable.

He wasn't very tall, sure
But he did what he was meant

The Home Insurance building in Chicago.

A famous brother never sleeps
in a borough oft unable.

He's intended to be the one
to whom charges should be sent.

Probably the Port Authority in #4 World Trade Center

a new device was once created
A man named Otis paved the way

To help you move around inside
You use it to this very day

Elevators!

Improve this answer
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8
  • $\begingroup$ Why do you think that? $\endgroup$
    – Khale_Kitha
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:26
  • $\begingroup$ Good job. I'm going to give this one to Daily for having a more thorough answer, first. I hope my formatting edits helped. $\endgroup$
    – Khale_Kitha
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:48
  • $\begingroup$ I have no idea what I'm doing wrong here. :-( I can't figure out the spoilers. $\endgroup$
    – InternetHobo
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:50
  • $\begingroup$ You rejected my edit that had the spoilers fixed for you.... $\endgroup$
    – Khale_Kitha
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:50
  • $\begingroup$ I didn't mean to, I kept trying to fix it myself. $\endgroup$
    – InternetHobo
    Mar 17, 2016 at 22:52

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