robski

A clever idea can sometimes go dreadfully wrong, particularly when it falls into the wrong hands. One such example concerned a special device developed by American scientists to simulate a bird's collision with an aeroplane, by firing dead chickens at test windscreens.

British engineers wanted to use the device to test windscreens on new high speed trains. But they watched in horror as the first chicken shattered the windshield, smashed through the dashboard, broke the driver's backrest, and then embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin.

The engineers quickly consulted with their American counterparts on the results of the experiment, providing them with details of the new windscreen, and asking for any suggestions. The scientists sent back a one-sentence response: "Thaw the chicken first".

If that wasn't enough, on the second attempt a chicken was duly left to thaw overnight in the firing device, and the test was carried out the following day.

The results were rather different to those expected, and close examination of the high speed video footage showed a very startled looking cat clinging to a half eaten chicken as it exited the device at MACH 0.7!

Yex

Old but Chuckleworthy....

The reuse of some object-oriented code has caused tactical headaches for Australia's armed forces. As virtual reality simulators
assume larger roles in helicopter combat training, programmers have gone to great lengths to increase the realism of their scenarios, including detailed landscapes and, in the case of the Northern Territory's
Operation Phoenix, herds of kangaroos (since disturbed animals might well give away a helicopter's position). The head of the Defence Science & Technology Organization's Land Operations/Simulation division reportedly instructed developers to model the local marsupials' movements and
reactions to helicopters. Being efficient programmers, they just re-appropriated some code originally used to model infantry detachment reactions under the same stimuli, changed the mapped icon from a soldier to a
kangaroo, and increased the figures' speed of movement.

Eager to demonstrate their program for some visiting American pilots, the hotshot Aussies "buzzed" the virtual kangaroos in low flight during a simulation. The kangaroos scattered, as predicted, and the
visiting Americans nodded appreciatively... then did a double-take as the kangaroos reappeared from behind a hill and launched a barrage of Stinger missiles at the hapless helicopter. Apparently the programmers had
forgotten to remove that part of the infantry coding.

The lesson?

Objects are defined with certain attributes, and any new object defined in terms of an old one inherits all the attributes. The
embarrassed programmers had learned to be careful when reusing object-oriented code, and the Yanks left with a new-found respect for Australian wildlife. Simulator supervisors report that pilots from that point onward have strictly avoided kangaroos, just as they were meant t


Yex