Garbage trucks have long been a marvel to me. I used to wince every time I heard the dumpster outside my office get emptied. Every single time the operator woul

Garbage trucks have long been a marvel to me. I used to wince every time I heard the dumpster outside my office get emptied. Every single time the operator would lift and tilt the dumpster, then smash it at least six times to make sure everything shook out. The dumpsters and the trucks had to withstand this beating over and over. The truck especially amazed me. Hundreds of pounds hanging on a cantilevered arm smashing down repeatedly--then moving onto the next dumpster! You just have to take whatever crazy spec you were given for the mechanical parts and then multiply that by 100 to engineer anything that could survive a single day.