Mechanical engineering is not only in textbooks. It is in your kitchen, your bike and the building you are sitting in. Each example links to the lesson that explains it.
The water tank on your roof
Ground floor taps flow harder than top floor taps, because they sit deeper below the water in the tank.
Car brakes
A light press of your foot squeezes the brake pads with huge force, thanks to brake fluid passing the pressure on.
Ice in your drink
About nine tenths of an ice cube hides under the surface. The same is true for icebergs.
Engine oil on a cold morning
Cold oil is thick and slow to move, which is why engines wear most in the first seconds after starting.
A tissue soaking up tea
Tiny gaps between paper fibres act like thin tubes, pulling the tea up against gravity.
The JCB at a building site
Hydraulic cylinders let a small pump lift a bucket full of earth and stone.
More examples arrive with every new subject: bicycle gears, refrigerators, bridges and car engines.