Science: Jack Frost

Engineering means ingenuity. The engineers in charge of the new bandstand on Municipal Pier, St. Petersburg, Fla., were nearly “stumped” when it was discovered that their 16-ton concrete floor was 18 inches too near the roof to permit a sounding board to be fitted in. Raising the roof would be costly. Lowering the floor on screw jacks would involve getting the jacks out from underneath. They solved their problem with ice and sunshine. Jacking the floor up two feet, they shoved in 50-pound cakes of ice, removed the jacks .and old floor supports. Before the ice melted, new supports, 18 inches shorter than the original ones, were in place.