Re: The Engineer's Iron Ring (Was RE: Business cards)

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- progeny -dot- com>]

Another tidbit about the engineer's ring:

According to one Canadian engineer I used to know, the ring was
originally made from metal taken from a bridge that had collapsed in
Quebec. This was done to impress on new engineers the importance of
their work, and the
possible consequences of shoddy work.

However, whether that is true, and whether the ex-bridge has long ago
been cut up into rings or is still being used for that purpose are other
matters. 

Still, it's an interesting bit of lore, all the more so for the Kipling
connection (which also seems unconfirmed, although fitting; imperialist
running dog that he was, Kipling is also one of the few modern English
writers who actually wrote about everyday work, and tried to give it a
mystique).

-- 
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- progeny -dot- com

"And Tyler smiles, Tyler smiles,
At an angry crowd stretching miles and miles,
Six hundred years, and the lesson wasn't learned."
- Attila the Stockbroker, "Tyler Smiles (22nd November, 1990)"

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