The Mathematical Bridge is a wooden bridge that spans the River Cam that joins two parts of Queens' College. You can see it from the Silver Street bridge over the Cam, or by visiting Queens' College, or by taking a punt trip along the Cam at the 'backs' of the colleges. If you ask a tourist guide they will usually tell you the story of how this bridge was designed and constructed by Sir Isaac Newton using mathematical principles, and was built without the need for bolts to hold it together. The college later wanted to find out how the bridge was built and dismantled it, but were unable to reassemble it in the same way and had to put bolts into it to hold it together. While this makes for a good story it is unfortunately entirely untrue. The bridge was built 22 years after the death of Isaac Newton. Other similar versions of the story are almost certainly also untrue

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