From an Ann Landers Column, September 2, 2000
Dear Ann Landers: I could not believe
such ignorance when I read the letter from "A
Midwestern Common-Sense Reader," who calculated
mathematically how an obese woman could wreck the wood
floors of an apartment building. Thankfully, you stood
your ground, and refused to be cowed by that "know-it-all."
I am a structural
engineer. Believe me, a 450-pound person would have no
significant impact on the structural integrity of an
apartment building floor. In order to have an impact,
"Common-Sense" calculated, the woman would have
to hop around on one foot all day, and fill that room
with people just like her who would do the same thing.
Floor
loads are not calculated by concentrated weights as
"Common-Sense" suggested. If that were true,
all parking garages would be billion-dollar projects with
columns of ridiculous design, and every apartment with a
water bed would collapse onto the apartment beneath. Any
engineering calculation will show that a 450-pound person
would never cause the stresses, strains and deflections
suggested by your reader. No person should be
discriminated against because of size. -- An Engineer in
Washington, D.C.
Dear
D.C.: Thanks for your professional opinion, along with a touch
of humanity. It was good of you to write. Oversized people have
enough to contend with, and should not have additional burdens.
