Engineering Stories
Famous failures, happy accidents and record-breaking builds, told in a few minutes each. Every story ends with the lesson engineers still use on site today.
Galloping Gertie: The Bridge That Danced Itself to Death
A 64 km/h wind, a deck only 2.4 m deep and a twisting motion nobody had designed for. How the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed four months after opening.
Read the story →Burj Khalifa's night pours
Ice in the mix, pours at midnight and a world pumping record. Concrete engineering at 828 metres.
Read the story →The Walkie-Scorchie
A businessman came back to his parked Jaguar and found it melting. The culprit was across the road.
Read the story →The melted chocolate bar
A radar engineer reached into his pocket and found melted chocolate. Popcorn and an exploding egg came next.
Read the story →The Wobbly Bridge
London's millennium footbridge closed two days after opening. The problem was the people walking on it.
Read the story →The Leaning Tower of Pisa
It began leaning before the third floor was finished. A war, a curve and some clever digging kept it standing.
Read the story →