I'm not making this up

[tim]

"A woman engineer is like a pearl in the shell. Treat her carefully, and she will blossom." -- from a reader survey on "what would you tell employers about women engineers?" in a copy of _Woman Engineer_ magazine that was lying around the CS department (no, I'm not making up that magazine title, either).

I guess by the same token, a male engineer is like a quartz crystal, or possibly like a cactus plant?

Comments

[etb]

Male engineers are like jimsonweed.

[sethg]

Given that pearls grow from a grain of irritation within the shell, I'm wondering how far the author really intended to take this metaphor.

[tim]

At least that part is apropos.

[talia_et_alia]

Mixed metaphors are the best kind.

[badasstronaut.livejournal.com]

Blimey. Pearls don't even blossom, so that makes no sense. etb - does jimsonweed blossom?

[etb]

I don't remember my parents' instance having flowers (before they dug it up, not wanting it to kill any of the neighbors' kids), but apparently it does.