FileTitle: Prose1497.html
Category: Humor
Type: Prose
Description: Chicken Launcher
What to Do for a Laugh
When Someone Has Borrowed
Your Rubber Chicken

The US Federal Aviation Administration has a unique device for testing the
strength of windshields on airplanes.  The device is a gun that launches a
dead chicken at a plane's windshield at approximately the speed the plane
flies. The theory is that if the windshield doesn't crack from the carcass
impact, it'll survive a collision with a real bird during flight.
      A British firm borrowed the FAA's chicken launcher to test a windshield
on a brand new, speedy locomotive they're developing. They set up the
launcher, loaded the chicken and fired. The ballistic chicken shattered the
windshield, went through the engineer's chair, broke an instrument panel and
embedded itself in the back wall of the engine cab.  The British were stunned
and asked the FAA to recheck the test to see if everything was done
correctly. The FAA reviewed the test thoroughly and had one recommendation:
      "Use a thawed chicken."

Source:  Meat & Poultry Magazine