Sword in the Stone at Waterloo (2012)

Sword in the Stone at Waterloo installed in front of Carl Pollock Hall

The Sword in the Stone at Waterloo was a smaller version of the Sword in the Stone in the Galbraith Garden that was installed in front of Carl Pollock Hall at the University of Waterloo on March 30, 2012.

Waterloo Sword in the Stone[edit | edit source]

After the success of a similar prank pulled at McMaster University in the previous year, it was decided that Waterloo deserved similar treatment.

Construction[edit | edit source]

Close-up of the BFC crest

The construction of the sword was very similar to that of the McMaster version, with the addition of an imprinted BFC crest on the concrete base and the words Disrupto Ergo Sum engraved on the hilt of the Sword.

Installation[edit | edit source]

Rather than taking the difficult route of placing the sword overnight in poor light conditions with a high risk of being caught using loud tools, the sword was transported to Waterloo in the early afternoon of March 30, 2012. Upon arrival, the truck was driven to the front of the engineering building and U of T engineers disguised as a construction crew proceeded to offload and install the sword beside Carl Pollock Hall in broad daylight. The installation of the sword was completed within the span of one hour.

A letter was presented to the president of the University of Waterloo Engineering Society by the Brute Force Committee, to celebrate the Waterloo Tool's 45th birthday and mocking their choice of mascot.

Reception and Response[edit | edit source]

The sword was generally well received by engineering students at Waterloo. Members of the Brute Force Committee enjoyed several beers in POETS, the engineering bar at Waterloo, before returning home. However, by the end of the weekend, some unknown students managed to sever the sword from the base and pierce the hidden chamber in the base. It is unknown who is currently in possession of the sword.

UW Eng Fountain prank

UW Fountain at the SF Atrium[edit | edit source]

On April 19, 2012, several students from the University of Waterloo responded with a prank of their own. They installed a fully functional concrete fountain shaped in the letters "UW ENG" and placed it in the Sandford Fleming Atrium in the middle of the night.