The Pentagon is a five-sided building that is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. A joke is that it was supposed to be a square (four sides) or an octagon (eight sides), but the government contractor cut corners (meaning “cut costs,” but literally cut corners). The rationale behind the octagon version is that cutting corners means that fewer corners are afforded, but cutting a corner (as on a square) produces more corners.
   
“The Pentagon was originally going to just be a square but the contractor kept cutting corners” was posted on Twitter by Austin Parker on July 1, 2013. “#joke the pentagon was actually supposed to be an octagon but the contractor kept cutting corners” was posted on Twitter by Josie Mora on January 17, 2014. “TIL the Pentagon was supposed to be the Octagon. But the contractor kept cutting corners” was posted on Reddit—Dadjokes on February 8, 2020. “The Pentagon was originally going to just be a square…. but the contractor kept cutting corners” was posted on Reddit—3amjokes on November 1, 2022. “Today I learned that the Pentagon was supposed to be an Octagon but the contractor… kept cutting corners” was posted on Reddit—Cleanjokes on May 3, 2023.
   
   
Wikipedia: The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase The Pentagon is often used as a metonym for the Department of Defense and its leadership.
 
The building was designed by American architect George Bergstrom and built by contractor John McShain. Ground was broken on 11 September 1941, and the building was dedicated on 15 January 1943.
           
Twitter
Austin Parker
@NovaLox420
The Pentagon was originally going to just be a square but the contractor kept cutting corners.
6:54 PM · Jul 1, 2013
   
Twitter
Kari Benson
@BensonKari
The Pentagon was originally going to just be a square but the contractor kept cutting corners.
11:01 AM · Sep 12, 2013
   
Twitter
Bird Law Expert
@BirdOfLawOfPrey
The Pentagon was originally meant to be a square, but the contractor kept cutting corners
10:16 PM · Sep 21, 2013
 
Twitter
Josie Mora
@uncouthgourmand
#joke the pentagon was actually supposed to be an octagon but the contractor kept cutting corners.
9:31 PM · Jan 17, 2014
   
Twitter
sass
@brutal_sass
the pentagon was actually supposed to be the octagon but the contractor kept cutting corners
10:22 PM · Jan 17, 2014
   
Twitter
sass
@brutal_sass
the pentagon was actually supposed to be the octagon but the contractor kept cutting corners
10:22 PM · Jan 17, 2014
 
Twitter
Anna Sholk
@AnnaSholk
“@johnmarsz12: Apparently the pentagon was supposed to be an octagon, I guess the architect just kept cutting corners” Octagons >
12:46 AM · Jan 20, 2014
   
Twitter
Nick
@YoPirateDad
The pentagon was supposed to be an octagon, but the construction company kept cutting corners.
10:55 AM · Jan 22, 2014
   
Twitter
DistanceCrew
@willymac_
FAST FACT: the Pentagon was supposed to be an Octagon but the architect kept cutting corners 😂
1:19 PM · Feb 17, 2014
   
Twitter
Sarah Furlong
@sarahfurlongxo
The pentagon was supposed to be an octagon…
But the contractor kept cutting corners
#ClassicJokeWednesday
2:07 PM · May 7, 2014
   
Twitter
The Curmudgeon Files
@FrankEPantz
The Pentagon was supposed to be an octagon, but the contractor kept cutting corners.
9:17 AM · Aug 17, 2014
     
Reddit—Jokes
Posted by u/rajington December 28, 2014
Did you hear The Pentagon was actually supposed to be an octagon?
but they hired a government contractor that cut corners
   
Reddit—Jokes
Posted by u/ParkDowning February 19, 2016
Why did the pentagon change it’s name to the square?
Because they were cutting corners.
 
Twitter
J.R. Bale 🇺🇦
@JRBale1
The Pentagon was supposed to be an octagon, but the contractor kept cutting corners.
5:34 AM · Feb 18, 2017
   
Reddit—Jokes
Posted by u/Prodigy829 February 3, 2020
Did you know that the Pentagon was originally supposed to be an Octagon?
It’s true, but the contractor just kept cutting corners.
 
Reddit—Dadjokes
Posted by u/Xavier_Superfly February 8, 2020
TIL the Pentagon was supposed to be the Octagon.
But the contractor kept cutting corners.
     
Twitter
T. Kearny Vertner, III
@tvertner
Today I learned that the Pentagon was supposed to be the Octagon, but the contractor kept cutting corners.
9:25 PM · Feb 8, 2020
   
Reddit—Dadjokes
Posted by u/matrose9 February 16, 2022
The Pentagon was initially supposed to be The Octagon.
Unfortunately the contractors cut corners.
   
Reddit—3amjokes
Posted by u/rawwdawgerrr November 1, 2022
The Pentagon was originally going to just be a square….
but the contractor kept cutting corners.
 
Reddit—Cleanjokes
Posted by u/madazzahatter May 3, 2023
Today I learned that the Pentagon was supposed to be an Octagon but the contractor…
...kept cutting corners.