Spaghetti bridge


A spaghetti bridge is an architectural model of a bridge, made of uncooked spaghetti or other hard, dry, straight noodles. Bridges are constructed for both educational experiments and competitions. The aim is usually to construct a bridge with a specific quantity of materials over a specific span, that can sustain a load. In competitions, the bridge that can hold the greatest load for a short period of time wins the contest. There are many contests around the world, usually held by schools and colleges.

Okanagan College contest

[Image:Spaghetti bridge.jpg|thumb|right|A spaghetti bridge being tested in the Okanagan College contest, with a weight attached]
The original Spaghetti Bridge competition has run at Okanagan College in British Columbia since 1983, and is open to international entrants who are full-time secondary or post-secondary students.
The winners of the 2009 competition were Norbert Pozsonyi and Aliz Totivan of the Szechenyi Istvan University of Győr in Hungary. They won $1,500 with a bridge that weighed 982 grams and held 443.58 kg. Second place went to Brendon Syryda and Tyler Pearson of Okanagan College with a bridge that weighed 982 grams and held 98.71 kg.

Contests

Spaghetti bridge building contests around the world include: