CONTEMPORARY NONSENSE
A pneumatic cannon that fires dead chickens at speeds of up to
620 mph has been developed by the National Research Council of
Canada
(Chemical
&
Engineering News,
November 2). The new gun
is designed to handle synthetic birds as well. The cannon ... is used in
testing airplane parts likely to be struck by birds. The cannon can easily
accommodate the four-pound bird, which is the international standard
for testing windshields, as well as the eight-pound bird recently adopted
by the Federal Aviation Administration as the standard test for tail
assemblies.
(Environment,
Jan/Feb 1971.) Contributed by Jay Martin Poole, Seattle,
Washington.
OIL:
Moscow - Oil industry expert says Moses and Joshua were
among earth's original polluters, criticizes regulations inhibiting inventive–
ness and progress.
(Greencastle, Indiana
Banner-Graphic,
June 19, 1971.) Contributed by
Mrs. Clem C. Williams, Jr., Greencastle, Indiana.
FDA CALLS HEARING ON SALES OF POISON AS TENDERIZER
WASHINGTON (AP) -
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
has called a hearing into the sales of a deadly poison mistakenly labeled
as a meat tenderizer.
And, after the death of a Maryland man last Sunday, the FDA
renewed Friday its public warning first issued last November that house–
wives, restaurants and bars throwaway any packages of tenderizer
labeled "Spice of Life."
(Denver Post,
March 21, 1971.) Contributed by John Ruppe, Laramie,
Wyoming.
In part, the persistence of the label may be due to this compul–
sive itch to pigeonhole: just as we think "serious" essayists are ones who
do those long, boring mosaics of double-talk for magazines like the
Partisan Review
(or the
Encounter
of some years ago, which turned
out to have been spawned by the C.I.A. - so much for the going price
for pundits).
(Esquire,
July 1971.) Contributed by Madeline Kirsch, Laurelton, Long
Island.
