The engineering story

German Engineering.

I could write for hours on those two words, but put them together, and I'll be writing for all eternity.

I will refrain from exhausting my sparse vocabulary of superlative adjectives of praise, and illustrate the don-ness with examples instead. (This post will be updated regularly)

1. Look:

So, what's novel about a sixteen wheeler parked by a roadside lamp? Nothing, until you see it turning. (Will add pics.)
This monster has, at about 40 kmph, the turning radius of a two wheeler at the same speed.
A few of the wheels (and corresponding axles) are actually lifted off the ground when the steering wheel is turned. Insane.

2. Look:

That's my room window.
Look again:

Its the same window.
It rotates about two perpendicular axes!
(But not independently. Duh.)

An engineering marvel if I ever saw one.
This is how the trick is accomplished:


The lever you see above has two configurations (and probably a cam/spur inside). It pushes one of two perpendicular rods into slots in the frame (that act as hinges) in either configuration.
Go figure.