Yesterday, our tunnel boring machine Mackenzie—who has been disassembled for more than a month but keeps right on tweeting—received a great question from a follower:
Are all tunnel boring machines named after women? Why?@MomChungtheTBM @BerthaDigsSR99 @BigAlmatheTBM @LadyBirdTBM @MackenzieTBM
— Kimble McCraw (@kimblem) December 12, 2013
With a little help and a link shared by @HMMnews, we were able to find the answer. WNYC's Derek Wang reported earlier this year, covering Seattle's TBM Bertha, that "the tradition and practice of naming tunneling machines dates back to the earliest mining traditions" including devotions to patron saints of safety of underground workers.
Another source Gautrain says a TBM cannot start work until it has been given a name.
As for why they are most commonly female names, "a TBM is generally named after a lady as a sign of good luck for the project ahead," Gautrain reads.
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