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by Stephen L. Richey
Kolibri Aviation Safety Research, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A.
The author was witness to a case of probable spatial disorientation with flight into terrain in a gull that was feeding upon a discarded bag of microwave popcorn. Spatial disorientation with flight into terrain is a well-documented phenomenon amongst human pilots. Here I discuss it as a possible explanation for some cases of injury and death in birds. I also discuss the risks inherent in attempting to aid what you might believe to be an injured gull—a gull that, in turn, might think you are attempting to take away its hard-earned food.
Flying Garbage Disposal
The ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) is among the most adaptable foragers in the animal kingdom. To phrase it more bluntly, they are basically flying garbage disposals that can and will eat nearly any item they can get their beaks around.
Gulls are among the birds most readily adapted to coexistence with human developments. They have learned to utilize human refuse as a food source.
The Scene Seen in Saginaw
The campus of Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, which the author previously attended, is home to a healthy population of ring-billed gulls (fig. 1). The relatively brazen nature of their feeding behaviors leads to the opportunity for close observation of mishaps related to this activity. The events described took place during an early afternoon in August 2007 as the author, an avid bird watcher and student pilot, was returning home from class to the university’s apartments.
A bag of burned generic microwave popcorn (fig. 2) was thrown out the door of a university apartment building. Immediately several gulls, all presumably L. delawarensis, descended upon the scene.
A squabble over the bag and its contents ensued. One of the birds grasped the bag in its bill, and took off. The weather at the time was observed to be generally clear; visibility was well beyond that which would allow for visual flight rules operations by a human pilot.
Figure 1: A ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis).
(Image credit: Wikipedia user Mdf)
Aerodynamics Details: The Popcorn-Bag and the Gull
The point by which the bag was held was the lower edge (in arbitrary reference to the direction of the ground as the bag landed after being discarded) of the open end. Approximately three seconds after takeoff, the airflow associated with flight blew the bag over the gull’s head. Almost immediately, the bird was observed to go into a steep (~80 degrees angle of attack) climb until approximately 250–300 feet off the ground. At this altitude, the gull, still flapping its wings, experienced an aerodynamic stall which resulted in its nose swinging to the left until it dropped below the horizon, placing the bird into an extreme nose-down attitude. When performed by a pilot in an aircraft, this maneuver is referred to as a “hammerhead stall.”
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I had to laugh when I first saw this Twaggie posted at the Neatorama Facebook page. See, my old microwave doesn’t have recipes on the buttons (yeah, I finally got rid of my dial microwave), but my mother’s does, which confused me at first. Matt Lassen illustrated this one from at Tweet by @perlanation. Link
What makes movie popcorn so gosh darned expensive? What’s in that strange yellow liquid they call butter anyhow? And while we’re at it – what are in those popcorn anyhow?
Well, it’s all a secret and theater owners are fighting the FDA to keep it that way:
Alarmed at the prospect, representatives of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners have been lobbying the FDA and congressional staff members in recent weeks to exempt theaters from the nutritional labeling requirement.
They argue that the proposed rules are an unwarranted intrusion into their business because people visit theaters to consume movies, not food.
"We’re not restaurants where people go to eat and satisfy themselves," Gary Klein, the theater trade group’s general counsel, said. "It’s dinner and a movie, not dinner at a movie."
Theater operators have a vested interest in fighting the proposed rules, as they generate up to one-third of their revenue from selling popcorn, sodas and other snacks. Popcorn is especially profitable. As David Ownby, the chief financial officer of Regal Entertainment Group, the nation’s largest theater circuit, recently said at an investor presentation, "We sell a bucket of popcorn for about $6. Our cost in that $6 bucket of popcorn is about 15 cents or 20 cents. So if that cost doubles, it doesn’t really hurt me that much."
$0.20 to $6? That’s a 3,000% mark up! Link
Yes, it’s made of popcorn, plus M&Ms, pretzel sticks, and marshmallows. Would you try it? Get the recipe at Cookies and Cups. Link -via Everlasting Blort
Snifty Scented Pen – $1.95
Is all the joy being slowly sucked from your life? Well, the Snifty Scented Pen from the NeatoShop is here to put a little fun back in your day. Nothing says I am desperately clinging onto the happiness of my youth like a pizza smelling pen. Oh, pizza smell how you bring me back to elementary school!
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more pen-tastic fun!
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You can pop popcorn by firing a laser at a single kernel. That’s what YouTube user WorldScott did using two laser emitters that look like lightsabers. A spinning turntable ensured even cooking throughout the kernel.
via CrunchGear
I like beer, and I like popcorn, but I’m not sure I like the two of them together. As in, mixed together. University of Missouri senior Cary Silverman saw some kids sneaking liquor into a movie theater and a light bulb went off in his head: popcorn and alcohol hybrid! After some experimenting, he struck on the idea of making flavored coatings and brushing each piece of popcorn with it. As a result, you can now get beer, Pina Colada and Irish Creme-flavored popcorn. At least it’s not bacon-flavored… I know some of us are getting a little overdosed on the bacon-flavored everything.
College students (why doesn’t this surprise me) Cary Silverman combined two party favorites to create a new snack: alcohol-flavored popcorn.
The popcorn, which doesn’t actually have any alcohol content, comes in beer, pina colada and Irish cream flavors. Link – via Unique Daily
