To the editor:

Did you know St Patrick was an engineer? He is the Engineer’s Patron Saint, Catholic or no!

When I was in Washington University Engineering School in the ’50s, we celebrated St Patrick via Engineer’s Day — We came up with interesting little exhibits to justify to our parents or to the VA where their money was going. (Not much then, but simply horrendous now).

My friends and I did a crude little robot (yep, even back then.) It was a little but heavy vehicle, powered by a lead-acid auto battery, which followed a white line painted on the floor, back and forth, in the long hallway, on the second floor — with wide, steep staircases on both ends.. On either end, it looped itself about and continued to follow the line.

Imagine our horror when we came out of class and our Mr EE Line Follower was just NOWHERE to be seen. There was no debris and we had heard no bumps or screams — so what had happened? Imagine a heavy, wild lead-acid storage battery on three little wheels hurtling down a stairway!. Yeegadds!!!

Then we heard a slight little buzzing.. The little rascal had missed a loop and had pushed open the self-closing door of a small office at the end of the hall: He then sat there harmlessly grinding (rrrrrrrrrr) his nose against the far wall.

We improved the configurations of his line-loops and paid him more attention after that. There were no consequences from Administration — surprising. (We did not exactly advertise the event!)

Allen Wollscheidt

Cape Coral