Effort behind the scenes at the 2004 North American International Auto Show (aka the Detroit Auto Show).
• Fourteen semi-trailers are required to carry the 75,000-plus yards of carpet used for the exhibits and aisles at the NAIAS. If the carpet was made into a two foot-wide runner, it would be 66 miles long. With the average home using 125 yards, the carpet used at the NAIAS would cover the equivalent of 600 homes.
• Auto show exhibits, theatrical lighting and sound equipment will use enough electricity to power a 360-home subdivision for six months.
• Equipment needed to set up the show includes over 1,000 semi-trucks, 14 million pounds of freight, 75 forklifts, 18 45-foot booms, 20 scissor lifts, and 12 miles of electric wires.
• In the 10 weeks it takes to prepare the NAIAS for the media and public, more than 1,500 carpenters, stagehands, electricians, Teamsters, riggers and ironworkers will be employed full time (12-14 hour days; some double shifts) until the job is done.
• It takes many other personnel to prepare the auto show including: 200 janitorial workers, 500-700 catering personnel, 65 vehicle polishers, 135 car porters, 87 full-time Cobo Center staff members and 20 additional part-time Cobo Center staff members.