Death & Destruction of a Fluke Multimeter

Entertaining?? I have to disagree with you on that point. I find nothing entertaining over the senseless destruction of a perfectly good piece of equipment.

It is also unnecessary. If you want to test something like this, just give it to a field tech.

Exactly. For a true test you have to give it to some GI in the army. I was grossed by a TRUE spec for some army gear that said: Connectors on cables must not be able to mate with the wrong connectors EVEN WITH A HAMMER! :-)

My favorite one was the "drop test spec". Was for phones for a now defunct cold war defense facility. We are all in the back room with all kinds of brass as the boss took a phone and dropped it one meter onto a "standard floor" [wood] built for the purpose of the test. Everybody happy. And then after I ask the boss. Would this thing survive a drop onto a concrete floor? No. What kind of floor do they have where it's going. Concrete. Terrific. Somebody thinks Ruskie rockets are on the way, gets excited and drops the phone on the floor. And then can't hear the command that it's all a false alarm. Swell. Just the thing to make you sleep well at night! Shoulda had Fluke building the phones! Guess they wouldn't be the lowest bidder.

If you had a Western Electric phone, it would survive the nuclear war. I have never seen any kind of "drop" hurt one. You might crack the case and even bend the metal base but the phone will still work.

Yep!

All they had to do was go for "off the shelf" phones from WE or even one of the two or so domestic competitors of Ma Bell.

I guess someone was paid to "re-invent" the handset.