# I saw this in Calvin and Hobbes once

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-this-in-calvin-and-hobbes-once/166932>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 6, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-this-in-calvin-and-hobbes-once/166932 "2003-04-06T22:06:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![StanDup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@StanDup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StanDup)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-this-in-calvin-and-hobbes-once/166932/1 "2003-04-06T22:06:49Z")

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How do they know the load limit on bridges? (And please don’t tell me that they put heavier and heavier trucks on the bridge until it falls and build it back up again) This question has been plaguing me ever since I read it.

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**Author:** ![StanDup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@StanDup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StanDup)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-this-in-calvin-and-hobbes-once/166932/2 "2003-04-06T22:09:56Z")

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Oops…I posted this question once too many times… I hd no idea refresh would do that -\_-"

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**Author:** ![hansel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@hansel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hansel)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-this-in-calvin-and-hobbes-once/166932/3 "2003-04-06T22:57:56Z")

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Part of the engineering that goes into building a bridge involves a calculation, based on the materials and the structural elements, of the load limit. I believe that physics simulations can also be done, especially for important bridges.

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**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\
**Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-saw-this-in-calvin-and-hobbes-once/166932/4 "2003-04-06T23:07:09Z")

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Since this is a duplicate, I’m closing this and directing posters to reply to [How do they know the load limit on bridges?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=175437)

**DrMatrix** - GQ Moderator