Bird droppings

By Andrew Impey

The phrase ‘out of this world’ is often over used and sometimes completely inappropriate, however, when it comes to bird poo, it couldn’t be more pertinent. Space shuttle Discovery was noted sporting some white guano spattering three weeks prior to lift off and, despite regular Florida thunderstorms, they were still there on take off.

During launch, a shuttle is sprayed with 300,000 galleons of water and the craft accelerates from zero to 17,500 mph in just under 9 minutes. Despite such a voyage, lead flight director Tony Ceccacci couldn’t help but chuckle when he noticed that the orbiting shuttle was still sporting the familiar white blotches on the black wing edge. Close Encounters of the Turd Kind maybe.

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