Spaghetti Bridge Breaking Competition at UMaine
Contact: Nick Houtman, Dept. of Public Affairs, 207-581-3777
ORONO, Maine — Students from Monmouth Academy will put spaghetti noodles — Delverde perciatelli #6, to be precise — to the test during the third annual Spaghetti Bridge Breaking Competition at the University of Maine on May 25. The event will be held in Boardman Hall, room 8, from 9:15-10:30 a.m.
Thirty Monmouth students, including freshmen, sophomores and juniors, are working in pairs to design and build bridges, according to Jeff Gosselin, Monmouth Academy math teacher. Perciatelli is a thick hollow pasta, and students must use Elmer’s glue to bond individual strands.
Bridges must be at least three inches high and span at least five inches. They can weigh no more than one pound.
Last year’s winning bridge held 6 tons before breaking, and the four runners-up held more than three tons. “These bridges were exceptional in that most bridges do not get to this level. I hope this year’s constructions live up to their hype. I suspect a few definitely will,” says Gosselin.
Bill Davids of the UMaine Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering Dept. will be the host.