Aluminum can engineering
Bill Hammack details the engineering choices underlying the design of a beverage can. He explains why it is cylindrical, outlines the manufacturing steps needed to created the can, notes why the can narrows near...
Tagged: engineering
Japanese wood joinery
Japanese wood joinery dates back to the seventh century and is a craftsmanship technique that involves complicated, interlocking wooden joints that form bonds without the use of nails, screws or adhesives. Even until recent...
Handle
The latest robotic offering from Boston Dynamics is quick, agile and looks like it may just keep you awake at night, as well as potentially putting many factory workers out of a job. Video...
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall represents one of Europe’s largest fortification efforts in recent history. Hitler ordered the construction of these immense fortifications in December 1941 to deter the Allies from invading Nazi-occupied Europe, but with...
Ancient underground city of Derinkuyu
Long ago, in the region surrounding Nevsehir and Kayseri, in central Turkey, an ancient people built, or rather dug, over 200 underground cities. The deepest of these, under the present day town of Derinkuyu,...
Brazen bull
History is replete with brutally imaginative torture and execution techniques. The list of cruelties includes crucifixion, where victims were left to die on the cross; the rack, where torturers would place the victim on...
Suicide Helmet
About 40 years ago, a young man constructed a suicide helmet that fired eight shotgun shells into his head simultaneously. From the guy who saw this work of art: “At the apex of each...
