Swimming pool trauma.
My uncle's an architect, and this is his story. I can't remember whether it's something that happened to him, or to a person he knows, or whether it's an urban myth; nor, really, do I care.

The commission was to build an Olympic-standard swimming pool somewhere in the North of England. This ought to have been straightforward enough: dig 50-metre hole, tile, fill with water, take money, run.

The thing with Olympic-standard swimming pools, though, is that they have to be validated by the IOC, and so an inspector was sent out from that body to verify that it was all up to snuff before it was filled and opened. And it wasn't up to snuff.

It was embarrassingly not up to snuff.

True, a 50-metre hole had been dug, and it had been tiled. The problem was that the tiles were three-dimensional. If you allow 5mm for the depth of the tile, this means that a fifty metre hole generates a 49.99 metre pool, which is not Olympic sized. It's just large - though not quite large enough.

Oooops.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 11:37, 11 replies)

I've heard that before...
Not sure where it is supposed to have been though... I'm thinking Leeds...
(The Kwyjibo A big, dumb, balding North American ape., Mon 13 Jul 2009, 12:13, closed)

That'd fit.
My uncle's an architect in Leeds.
( Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 12:23, closed)

tis true
And it is in leeds

Leeds International Pool specifically - goole it for a street view of the shittiest building for miles around :)
( ogwen69 has returned from Reddit, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 12:33, closed)

That is one horrible building...
Ugh...
(The Kwyjibo A big, dumb, balding North American ape., Mon 13 Jul 2009, 13:13, closed)

And yet...
There is apparently much wailing and gnashing of teeth because they're going to pull down a "Leeds treasure".
(Vice Admiral Sir Charles Cockbrush KCB MBE DSO, who is finding it increasingly difficult to log into b3ta.com wants to duck your aunt and kick your puppy, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 13:39, closed)

fuckme
that looks like something left over from Chernobyl.
(tweebianmonkey Should be known as Widget, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 15:12, closed)

I've heard something similar
but it was a deliberate "mistake" on behalf of the council-employed architect. Y'see, Cambridge Council wanted to build a big swimming pool. Big enough for people to be able to do decent lengths and therefore exercise properly, and big enough for a giant inflateable boat to be put there on Saturday mornings for the kid's club. It's even got 3 diving boards so people can practise diving as well.

However, they didn't want it to be so big that it would be commandeered for competitions or professional training - they wouldn't receive as much money from proper athletes as they would from normal punters. So they built it to be an inch too short.

The result is the Parkside Pool - and because they don't have to keep it shiny and updated for professional events, never did you see such a hive of scum and villany.*

*Oh, wait. That's the council, not the pool.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 12:53, closed)

The same thing happened at Bath University
So now the poor sods can't do any official timings.

Ooops indeed.
( unsey a frizzy haired fruit since, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 15:34, closed)

It's such a shame
That the laws of physics prevent you from making a hole slightly bigger once you've dug it.
(Vice Admiral Sir Charles Cockbrush KCB MBE DSO, who is finding it increasingly difficult to log into b3ta.com wants to duck your aunt and kick your puppy, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 15:40, closed)

Think its happened before
Stirling uni swimming pool is the same i think, 1 inch or so short
(sparklehorse is loving popping his cherry...again....honest, Mon 13 Jul 2009, 21:30, closed)

On the plus side
Think of all the money that's saved by not having to put as much water in.
(Swagga, Tue 14 Jul 2009, 9:03, closed)