A curious use of spaghetti challenged the wits and engineering skills of university students in Chile to see who could build the strongest 'Spaghetti Bridge'. This was the 11th year of the annual competition organized by the University of the Andes in Santiago which challenges students from the school of engineering to construct a bridge weighing no more than 300 grams out of spaghetti noodles and glue to see whose structure can support the most weight. Each contestant has the same two packages of spaghetti and nine packages of adhesive. The idea is to build a structural bridge out of spaghetti following certain regulations to support the most weight in the middle, explained the president of the university's student center, Matias Pizarro.The 28 competitors eagerly waited for their bridge's resistance to be tested as they watched those that went before them crumble one by one under the pressure. Of course only one noodle-structure could claim top honors, and that was Civil Engineering student Rafael Navarro's James Bonder which stood strong and supported up to 61.5 kilograms (135 pounds) before finally collapsing.
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