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I really thought it was a typographical error when I read the city of Gresham‘s Official Call for Bid:  “Linneman Pump Station Pigging Facility.”

Nah … they must have meant “piping facility” …  But it’s true.  The city of Gresham is not just going to build a “pigging’ facility,” it’s going to be a pig LAUNCHING facility. Sounds like an episode of “Myth Busters.”

I’m sure that there are construction people out there who know what “pigging” is, but I was raised on a farm, so the project title conjured us an entirely different visual for me. For those of you that don’t know, let me tell you what I found out.

“Pigging” refers to using pipeline inspection gauges, or pigs, which are used for cleaning and inspection of pipelines and other operations.  Of course, the “pig” has to be inserted into a “pig launcher,” a funnel-shaped “Y” section in the pipeline. The pressure in the pipeline pushes the “pig” along, sending it on a joyride inside the pipe until it reaches – are you ready? – the “pig catcher.”

Launching “pigs” is not all fun and games. There are risks. (Oh, really?) If the launching barrel is not completely depressurized prior to opening, the pig can be ejected from the barrel. In fact, operators have been severely injured when standing in front of an open pig door  when a pig flies out. That’s probably something your mama never taught you.

By the way, did you know that some of these “pigs” are actually famous?  Three James Bond movies have used “pigs” as part of the plot: “Diamonds Are Forever,” in which James disabled a “pig” to escape a pipeline (not classified as pig abuse); “The Living Daylights,” where a modified “pig” secretly transported a person through the Iron Curtain; and “The World Is Not Enough,” where a “pig” was used to transport a nuclear weapon.

The City of Gresham’s “Pigging Facility” bids on Oct. 1.  No word on when the pigs will be launched.