Q 01/05

Which Washington state span, nicknamed Galloping Gertie, twisted itself apart in a gale four months after opening?

A) Deception Pass Bridge

B) Tacoma Narrows Bridge

C) Hood Canal Bridge

D) Lewis and Clark Bridge

Answer · why

B) Tacoma Narrows Bridge

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge failed through aeroelastic flutter rather than simple resonance, and the only life lost was a cocker spaniel named Tubby, le...

Q 02/05

P. T. Barnum marched 21 elephants across which New York crossing in 1884 to show doubters that it was safe?

A) Manhattan Bridge

B) Williamsburg Bridge

C) High Bridge

D) Brooklyn Bridge

Answer · why

D) Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge was seen through to completion by Emily Warren Roebling, who relayed her bedridden husband's instructions to the engineers on site...

Q 03/05

Which shape is the basic unit of a truss because it cannot be deformed without changing a side's length?

A) Triangle

B) Rectangle

C) Hexagon

D) Circle

Answer · why

A) Triangle

The triangle is the simplest figure that will not change shape while its side lengths stay fixed, which is why a bare rectangular frame needs a diagon...

Q 04/05

Which Babylonian king's law code put a builder to death if his house collapsed and killed its owner?

A) Nebuchadnezzar II

B) Nabonidus

C) Hammurabi

D) Nabopolassar

Answer · why

C) Hammurabi

Hammurabi's code went further still: under the next law, if the collapse killed the owner's son, the builder's own son was to die.

Q 05/05

Ming-dynasty builders strengthened the lime mortar of the Great Wall of China by mixing in which food?

A) Millet porridge

B) Soybean curd

C) Wheat flour

D) Sticky rice

Answer · why

D) Sticky rice

Sticky rice, boiled to a thick soup, adds a starch called amylopectin that makes lime mortar stronger and more water-resistant.