Building gingerbread houses is an annual tradition for some families around the holiday season. But most of us have trouble actually keeping all of the walls intact while the roof is put on top.
So what happens when you challenge structural engineers to build gingerbread bridges? Things get pretty darn competitive.
The Structural Engineers Association of Colorado's young member group put on a big competition this year in Denver.
Twelve teams spent the past month building gingerbread bridges with the goal of seeing how much weight their houses can bear.
They were only allowed to use gingerbread graham crackers and things that are edible. There were rules making it hard to cheat - unless the engineers were willing to eat anything, that is.
"Once the structures get destroyed on the loading apparatus, one of the rules is, you do have to eat part of your bridge, to prove that it's edible, to prove that there's not things in it you're not willing to eat," said Jeremy Crandall, a structural engineer.
The winning bridge was able to sustain 843 pounds.
