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Physics & Chemistry

Can Bird Poop Really Crack Your Car’s Windshield?

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It’s one of life’s great mysteries: how much damage can bird poop falling at terminal velocity really do? Rhett Allain, Wired’s resident physics guy, did us all a kindness and set his equations on this serious and pressing matter, originally raised by a Car Talk caller.

The answer? Maaaaybe, if it was an especially large avian dump and had some debris in it. But I’m nowhere near smart enough to know if he’s right or not. Click through for the math and headache and general feeling of insignificance. [Wired, Car Talk]

Image credit Joshua Ganderson

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