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The Case of the Exploding Couch

As the resident mechanical engineer, I am occasionally recruited to help build things. On this occasion, I was called upon to help build a futon. The futon in question was shipped in several pieces; of particular note was the futon cushion itself. It was no foam pad or overstuffed mattress, it was a full on pocket coil spring mattress. For purposes of shipping, the mattress was compressed between the steel frame of the seat bottom and the seat back, with heavy duty nylon bands maintaining the compressive load. The directions said to be careful when cutting the bands, and indeed, I was very careful not to cut the compressed mattress at the same time. I severed the final band, and the release of tension around the compressed coil spring of the mattress was so great that it ejected the steel seat frame into the air, where it then flew into the flatscreen tv. I held my breath as the frame bounced off the glass, leaving it uncracked, then continued to hold my breath as the tv teetered, then slowly fell off of it's stand, crashing into the wall behind. I ran over, propped the tv back up, and made sure it still worked. It did. Last time I build a futon for anyone though.

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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous10/05/2011 11:32 PM

    You seem to have a lot of trouble with mechanical things getting away from you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awkward Engineer10/06/2011 8:28 PM

    What can I say? Sometimes things just happen.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JT the Ninja10/10/2011 9:42 AM

    http://daisyowl.com/comic/2009-08-28

    Futons are dangerous, dangerous creatures...[]

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awkward Engineer10/10/2011 9:51 AM

    Haha. True story. Is daisy owl your creation, or something you found?

    ReplyDelete