Feathers, the publication of the California Poultry 
Industry Federation, recently revealed the plucky way 
the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration tests the 
strength of windshields on airplanes. 

It seems the FAA uses a special gun to launch dead 
chickens at the planes' windshields. The chickens are 
sent flying at approximately the same speed as the planes 
fly. The theory is that if the windshield doesn't crack 
from the carcass impact, it will survive a collision with 
a bird during flight. 

 The British heard about this chicken gun and thought it 
would be just ducky to use in testing the windshield of a 
high-speed locomotive they were developing. The Brits 
borrowed the gun, loaded it with chicken and fired. 

 The bird-bullet 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 check over their 
test to see if they'd done it correctly. 

 The FAA reviewed the test and came back with one 
recommendation: "Use a thawed chicken."