Testing Windshields

   
       The FAA has a device for testing the strength of windshields on 
  airplanes. They point this thing at the windshield of the aircraft and 
  shoot a dead chicken at about the speed the aircraft normally flies at 
  it.  If the windshield doesn't break, it's likely to survive a real 
  collision with a bird during flight.  The British had recently built a 
  new locomotive that could pull a train faster than any before it.  They 
  were not sure that its windshield was strong enough so they borrowed the 
  testing device from the FAA, reset it to approximate the maximum speed 
  of the locomotive, loaded in a dead chicken, and fired.  The bird went 
  through the windshield, broke the engineer's chair, and made a major 
  dent in the back wall of the engine cab. They were quite surprised with 
  this result, so they asked the FAA to check the test to see if 
  everything was done correctly.  The FAA checked everything and suggested 
  that they might want to repeat the test using a thawed chicken.