Image(s) of the Day: What do you do for an engineer’s birthday?

If someone special in your life is an engineer, here are some creative birthday ideas collected from across the Internet.

1. Baking the cake

Cake baked by Imgur user for her husband’s birthday.


Technical circuit board cake by Retro Bakery in Nevada.

2. Shopping for your engineer

If your engineer is a woman:

Silver Shuttle with Boosters Earrings from Kennedy Space Center.

  If your engineer is a man (or woman, actually):

A USB Thermoelectric Cooler & Warmer. Fits one can. (ThinkGeek)

3. The birthday card

You can go traditional.

(CafePress)

Or, you can get techy and leave a birthday message with a digital video memo recorder called “Vidly”.

The fridge magnet has a 1.8 Inch LCD screen so the birthday guest can watch your message repeatedly. (Chinavision)

4. Send a geeky birthday text

This Reddit user received the following text from his chemical engineer uncle.

5. Lighting the birthday candles

Instead of a traditional match, impress your engineer with a Solar Spark Lighter and Survival Tool.

6. Bonus: If your engineer is feeling down about getting old, tell him or her a joke.

Here’s one if you don’t know any off-hand.

How many first year engineering students does it take to change a light bulb?
None. That's a second year subject.

How many second year engineering students does it take to change a light bulb?
One, but the rest of the class copies the report.

How many third year engineering students does it take to change a light bulb?
“Will this question be in the final examination?”

How many civil engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
Two. One to do it and one to steady the chandelier.

How many electrical engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
None. They simply redefine darkness as the industry standard.

How many computer engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
“Why bother? The socket will be obsolete in six months anyway.”

How many mechanical engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
Five. One to decide which way the bulb ought to turn, one to calculate the force required, one to design a tool with which to turn the bulb, one to design a comfortable – but functional – hand grip, and one to use all this equipment.

How many nuclear engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
Seven. One to install the new bulb and six to figure out what to do with the old one for the next 10,000 years.

Happy Birthday!