[guitfiddlist]

It seems 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.

I remember that story. It showed up in Aviation Week & Space Technology along with with a high speed camera shot of a chicken blasted out of the cannon enroute to an F-15 windshield (canopy). The picture caption ended with the rather cryptic summary "...it did not survive."

The next issue's Letters to the Editor was packed with reader questions on whether they were talking about the chicken or the windshield.

[Eagle Eye]

They were supposed to thaw the chicken first.