How much weight can a handle of Technic pegs and beams support?
Tristan Lostroh did an exhaustive test of both studded beams and stud-less beams with and without connections. Here are his results:


  
  Studless beams are better in tension than studded
  Studded beams are better in transverse than studless
  Studless beams are stronger in transverse with the pins on the side 
  Connections to other components will fail before the beam (Either connections themselves  or the connection area of the beam)(IE the
  (unstressed) centre of the beam    will not fail) 
  Pin connections will probably pull apart before they fail catastrophically 
  The more pins, the stronger the connection 
  In transverse 3 pin overlap, with 2 pins used is almost as strong as 3 pin overlap and 3 pins used 
  Beams in transverse conditions won’t fail (but will bend) if the pivot points match the end of  the connection 
  Lego is quite strong for its weight
  


From the report it looks like two beams linked with 5 pins will break at about 57lb of transverse force. 

Edit: Just for the fun of it I calculated this 'real life' scenario. Imagine a kid with 40cm  arms spinning around a 2lb Lego ship.  To create the 57lb of centrifugal force necessary to break the handle he would have to turn at 252rpm.  I don't think any amount of sugar can do that.