What does an engineering firm know about fun facts? Perhaps that depends on the engineering firm and your definition of fun. LP Consulting, is an engineering firm Sydney and, likes to think out of the box. From the seriously awesome, to an engineering giggle, here are our top five engineering fun fact picks:
1- The Sydney Opera House was a finalist for the 7 new wonders of the world
In 2006, 21 of 200 existing iconic monuments were listed as finalists for the 7 new wonders of the world. This included the Sydney Opera House. Although missing out on the final 7, the unique building was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.
While not all Sydney civil engineering firms will achieve this level of acclaim, our civil engineering projects are the heart of the city.
2- The word “engineering” means more than just construction.
Etymology of many words can be quite complex. Engineering is no exception. From Latin roots implying “to create”, the early English word for “cleverness”, french influence meaning “to produce”, and of course a terms referring to construction, the word engineering is a feat of verbal engineering in itself.
3- Sydney’s area is larger than London, with less than 40% of London’s 13 million population.
When it comes to civil engineering firms Sydney is Australia’s hub. There are over 5 million people living across 650 suburbs. However, when you compare Sydney to worldwide major cities you find an interesting phenomenon. Sydney is typically larger in size while significantly smaller in population. This means Sydney is one of the lowest density major cities in the world. For civil engineers this means we have a unique challenge in creating civil engineering feats such as a comparatively vast, expensive transport systems for a sprawling population.
4- The earliest known civil engineer lived over 4,500 years ago!
Civil engineering is basically as old as the hills. Imhotep holds the honour of being the earliest known civil engineering. He is believed to have worked on Pyramid construction around 2,600BC. The civil engineers Sydney utilises can thank Imhotep and countless others for thousands of years of innovation.
5- Engineers stereotypically think like computers
The best way to explain this one is with an old joke:
The engineer’s wife asks her husband to go to the store. She says “Can you grab a litre of milk, and if they have eggs, grab a dozen.”
The engineer returns from the store with 12 litres of milk and not an egg in sight. When his wife asks him why he bought 12 litres of milk he says, “Well, because they had eggs.”
If that made you laugh out loud, then you have some understanding of engineering. If you’re totally stumped, then don’t even think about putting hammer to nail without giving give LP Consulting a call first!
How many of these were you already aware of, and which ones surprised you?
