100 years after the Titanic, we’re still not unsinkable
A couple of weeks ago, two other engineers and I were given a tour of a late-1920s mansion outside Detroit. To reach the second floor, we decided to take the vintage elevator. As it descended toward us, it sounded like a cage being rattled by a large animal. Our guide cheerfully told us not to worry; the suspect elevator had been well-maintained and was “absolutely safe.”
My fellow engineers and I exchanged looks. We know that nothing is absolutely safe.
On the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, it’s worth remembering that safety is and always will be relative. Though lifeboat drills have proliferated since 1912, catastrophes still occur.… Seguir leyendo »