The next time you go to upgrade you mobile phone with the promise of taking better photos, remember the human eye is the best camera on the planet.
And when you step on to the top floor of a skyscraper look down first at your legs: the bones in there are stronger than the building’s concrete.
Astonishing? We haven’t even mentioned the human brain yet, which consists of one billion neurons and has a storage capacity of a million gigabytes!
It’s no surprise our bodies have been inspirational in engineering innovation through the years.
Perhaps one of the most famous examples can be found in the thinking behind the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
In 1866 Karl Cullman had found the head of the thighbone, the longest and strongest bone in our bodies, was made up of tiny fibres woven in a lattice pattern and used this to design a crane.
In 1889 Gustave Eiffel used the Swiss engineer’s method to create the strong crisscross metalwork of his famous Tower. The flares at the base, just like an upside down thighbone, give the structure an extra-strong foundation.
Bones remain inspirational to this day.
The human spine has been the model for a reusable, low-maintenance and low-carbon bridge pier being developed by researchers at Southampton University.
Designed to withstand earthquakes and damage that can be caused by traffic and freezing weather, the entire structure can be built in just two days and taken away when no longer needed.
Here’s the science bit. The bridge pier is based around precast composite segments without any reinforcing steel that are designed to act as vertebrae.
Between these segments are discs, built from a super-secret composite material being developed by the team.
This will stop the vertebrae from rubbing against each other and transfer forces through friction.
It can also absorb impacts caused by the rocking of the vertebrae (did someone say earthquake?) and provide mechanical damping.
When it comes to engineering work this really is putting your back into it.
Of course, not all engineers choose bones as their inspiration.
However, those of a weak disposition or prudish nature should turn away now.
Our last tribute is to the Sky Tower in Poland – if ever you should dare look at an image, we’re sure you’ll agree from a certain angle this is a bold, brave and truly eye-opening design.
Which part of the human anatomy would inspire you to engineering fame? Find out with the best roles in Engineering and Technical from s1jobs.