‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the cubicles,
Santa’s Geotech Elves wiped ice off their cuticles.
While their stocking-capped chums spent the months crafting toys
They’d worn hard hats and earplugs against drill-rig noise.
Their task: to increase the North Pole’s capacity.
In a plan quite remarkable for its audacity:
“We’ll build a magnificent workshop expansion
More splendid than that Jack Frost’s snow-sculpted mansion!
A facility handling twice present demand
On a foundation comprised of good ol’ North Pole Sand.* ”
*Ice
So, the office elves reviewed borings logs while stockings were hung -
“Thirty feet of crystalline ice, translucent, that sticks to your tongue.”
Tracking fractures and fissures and several melted zones
All voids encountered to be filled with cobblestones.
The field elves themselves toiled all through December
To prepare the frozen ground for each structural member.
The more experienced elves designed icy-ground improvement
To limit displacements and any future toy factory movement.
After considering grouting, preloading, and rigid inclusion,
They arrived at what seemed the most prudent solution:
A ground freezing contract with Snowmanagers, LLC
Where Frosty and crew would keep the ground as cold as could be.
Working cheerfully right up until Christmas Eve,
There’s nothing these Geotech elves couldn’t achieve.
But when five o’clock came, holiday time was begun.
They’d return in the New Year to foundation design fun.
Snuggled back in their homes with their kith and their kin,
The Elves couldn’t wait for the fun to begin.
They enjoyed more than gifts. Though they liked their things,
They took joy in the comforts that this season brings:
To be with loved ones and share tales from their occupation,
While hoping their families would stay awake for the duration!
For studying rock and soil is more than just some elves’ call –
Geotechnical engineering is a gift to us all!