I Love Stupid

ARTIST COMMENTARY

Those grey splotches are the birds. Just take my word.

This strip's based on a two-part news story:

(1) A U.S. Airways plane crash-landed after geese suicide-bombed the engines. The pilot managed a water landing sans death, so kudos to him.

(2) U.S. Airways is reimbursing ticket costs, which is not surprising. But they are also giving each passenger $5000.

When I read about this second part, I immediately thought two things: (1) That's generous of them, but surely motivated by long-term business interests, and (2) I bet now a lot of people wish they were on that plane. I don't know about you, but when I travel there's a whole lot less than $5000 worth of stuff in my luggage. So if I knew I'd survive, that'd be a pretty sweet deal. I'd have the thrill ride of a lifetime, plus an exciting story to tell my grandkids. Or women in bars; it's versatile like that.

How do you test an engine's vulnerability to birds? The obvious answer, which seems like it should have to be a joke, turns out to be the right one: You throw a bird in there while it's running. Sure, scientists could come up with a bird-substitute object and grind that up instead, but it sounds like a bit of a hassle.

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