To prove that you just can't communicate clearly enough when giving
instructions for exercises ---
In a recent issue of "Meat & Poultry" magazine, editors quoted from
"Feathers," the publication of the California Poultry Industry
Federation, telling the following story:
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.
The theory is that if the windshield doesn't crack from the carcass
impact, it'll survive a real collision with a bird during flight. It
seems the British were very interested in this and wanted to test a
windshield on a brand new, speedy locomotive they're developing. They
borrowed the FAA's chicken 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 forwarded one recommendation:
"Use a thawed chicken."
