The Engineering Professor's Favorite Bedtime Story

Engineering students can spot this one from a mile away! The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse of 1940 is basically the engineering equivalent of a campfire ghost story. No engineering professor can resist bringing it up, completely unprompted, as the ultimate cautionary tale of resonance gone wild. It's that perfect classroom moment where they lean in dramatically and say "and that's why you ALWAYS account for wind forces!" The bridge literally danced itself to death because someone forgot that bridges shouldn't wiggle like jello. Engineering professors treasure this disaster like it's a family heirloom they're legally obligated to pass down to every new generation of students.