Engineering Jokes Page

People often collect jokes about other professionals (lawyers, doctors, ministers). I am collecting jokes about engineers (and other scientists) because I believe that it is important to be able to laugh at yourself. So whether you are an engineer or not, I hope you enjoy this collection of jokes about engineers.

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Comprehending Engineers --Take One

A pastor, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.

The engineer fumed, "What's with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes!"

The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such ineptitude!"

The pastor said, "Hey, here comes the greenskeeper. Let's have a word with him."

[dramatic pause]

"Hi George. Say, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?" The greenskeeper replied, "Oh, yes, that's a group of blind firefighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime."

The group was silent for a moment.

The pastor said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight."

The doctor said, "Good idea. And I'm going to contact my opthalmologist buddy and see if there's anything he can do for them."

The engineer said, "Why can't these guys play at night?"

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Comprehending Engineers-Take Two

There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired. Several years later the company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having with one of their multi-million dollar machines.

They had tried everything and everyone else to get the machine to work but to no avail. In desperation, they called on the retired engineer who had solved so many of their problems in the past.

The engineer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day studying the huge machine. At the end of the day, he marked a small "x" in chalk on a particular component of the machine and stated, "This is where your problem is".

The part was replaced and the machine worked perfectly again.

The company received a bill for $50,000 from the engineer for his service. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges.

The engineer responded briefly:

One chalk mark $1

Knowing where to put it $49,999

It was paid in full and the engineer retired again in peace.

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Comprehending Engineers-Take Three

What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?

Mechanical Engineers build weapons,

Civil Engineers build targets.

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Comprehending Engineers-Take Four

The graduate with a Science degree asks, "Why does it work?"

The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"

The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"

The graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

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Comprehending Engineers-Take Five

Three engineering students were gathered together discussing the possible designers of the human body. One said, "It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints."

Another said, "No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections."

The last said, "Actually it was a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?"

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Comprehending Engineers-Take Six

"Normal people ... believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet."

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Comprehending Engineers-Take Seven

An architect, an artist and an engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time with the wife or a mistress.

The architect said he enjoyed time with his wife, building a solid foundation for an enduring relationship.

The artist said he enjoyed time with his mistress, because of the passion and mystery he found there.

The engineer said, "I like both."

"Both?"

Engineer: "Yeah. If you have a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending time with the other woman, and you can go to the lab and get some work done."

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Comprehending Engineers--Take Eight

Two engineering students were walking across campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?" The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want."

The second engineer nodded approvingly, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit."

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The Castaway Engineer

A rather inhibited engineer finally splurged on a luxury cruise to the Caribbean. It was the "craziest" thing he had ever done in his life.

Just as he was beginning to enjoy himself, a hurricane roared upon the huge ship, capsizing it like a child's toy. Somehow the engineer, desperately hanging on to a life preserver, managed to wash ashore on a secluded island.

Outside of beautiful scenery, a spring-fed pool, bananas and coconuts, there was little else. He lost all hope and for hours on end, sat under same palm tree. One day, after several months had passed, a gorgeous woman in a small rowboat appeared.

"I'm from the other side of the island," she said. "Were you on the cruise ship, too?"

"Yes, I was, " he answered. "But where did you get that rowboat?"

"Well, I whittled the oars from gum tree branches, wove the reinforced gunnel from palm branches, and made the keel and stern from a Eucalyptus tree."

"But, what did you use for tools?" asked the man.

"There was a very unusual strata of alluvial rock exposed on the south side of the island. I discovered that if I fired it to a certain temperature in my kiln, it melted into forgeable ductile iron. Anyhow, that's how I got the tools. But, enough of that," she said. "Where have you been living all this time? I don't see any shelter."

"To be honest, I've just been sleeping on the beach," he said.

"Would you like to come to my place?" the woman asked. The engineer nodded dumbly.

She expertly rowed them around to her side of the island, and tied up the boat with a handsome strand of hand-woven hemp topped with a neat back splice. They walked up a winding stone walk she had laid and around a palm tree. There stood an exquisite bungalow painted in blue and white.

"It's not much, but I call it home." Inside, she said, "Sit down please. Would you like to have a drink?"

"No, thanks," said the man. "One more coconut juice and I'll throw up!"

"It won't be coconut juice," the woman replied. "I have a crude still out back, so we can have authentic Pina Coladas."

Trying to hide his amazement, the man accepted the drink, and they sat down on her couch to talk. After they had exchanged stories, the woman asked, "Tell me, have you always had a beard?"

"No," the man replied, "I was clean shaven all of my life until I ended up on this island."

"Well if you'd like to shave, there's a razor upstairs in the bathroom cabinet."

The man, no longer questioning anything, went upstairs to the bathroom and shaved with an intricate bone-and-shell device honed razor sharp. Next he showered -- not even attempting to fathom a guess as to how she managed to get warm water into the bathroom -- and went back downstairs. He couldn't help but admire the masterfully carved banister as he walked.

"You look great," said the woman. "I think I'll go up and slip into something more comfortable."

As she did, the man continued to sip his Pina Colada. After a short time, the woman, smelling faintly of gardenias, returned wearing a revealing gown fashioned out of pounded palm fronds.

"Tell me," she asked, "we've both been out here for a very long time with no companionship. You know what I mean. Have you been lonely...is there anything that you really, really miss? Something that all men and woman need? Something that would be really nice to have right now!"

"Yes there is!" the man replied, shucking off his shyness. "There is something I've wanted to do for so long. But on this island all alone, it was just...well, it was impossible."

"Well, it's not impossible, any more," the woman said.

The man, practically panting in excitement, said breathlessly, "You mean you actually figured out some way we can check our e-mail here?!"

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Engineers think that equations approximate the real world.

Scientists think that the real world approximates equations.

Mathematicians are unable to make the connection.

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A Mathematician, a Biologist and a Physicist are sitting in a street cafe watching people going in and coming out of the house on the other side of the street. First they see 2 people going into the house. Time passes.

After a while they notice 3 persons coming out of the house.

The Physicist: "The measurement wasn't accurate."

The Biologist: "They have reproduced."

The Mathematician: "If now exactly 1 person enters the house then
it will be empty again."

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An Engineer, a Physicist, and a Mathematician are shown a pasture with a herd of sheep, and told to put them inside the smallest possible amount of fence.

The Engineer is first. He herds the sheep into a circle and then puts the fence around them, declaring "A circle will use the least fence for a given area, so this is the best solution."

The Physicist is next. She creates a circular fence of infinite radius around the sheep, and then draws the fence tight around the herd, declaring "This will give the smallest circular fence around the herd."

The Mathematician is last. After giving the problem a little thought, he puts a small fence around himself and then declares "I define myself to be on the outside!"

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An Engineer, a Mathematician, and a Physicist went to the races one Saturday and laid their money down. Commiserating in the bar after the race, the Engineer says "I don't understand why I lost all my money. I measured all the horses and calculated their strength and mechanical advantage and figured out how fast they could run ...".

The Physicist interrupts him: "... but you didn't take individual variations into account. I did a statistical analysis of their previous performances and bet on the horses with the highest probability of winning."

"So if you're so hot, why are you broke?" asked the Engineer.

But before the argument can grow, the Mathematician takes out his pipe and they get a glimpse of his well-fattened wallet. Obviously here was a man who knew something about horses. They both demanded to know his secret.

"Well", he says, between puffs on the pipe, "first I assumed all the horses were identical and spherical ...".

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As an experiment, an Engineer, a Physicist, and a Mathematician are placed in separate rooms and left with a can of food, but no can opener.

A day later, the rooms are opened, 1 by 1.

In the 1st room, the Engineer is snoring, with a battered, opened, and emptied can. When asked, he explains that when he got hungry, he beat the can to its failure point.

In the 2nd room, the Physicist is seen mouthing equations, with a can popped open beside him. When asked, he explains that when he got hungry, he examined the stress points of the can, applied pressure, and "pop!".

In the 3rd room, the mathematician is found gaunt and sweating, mumbling to himself "Assume the can is open, assume the can is open ...".

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