The bloody goo that results from a bird/plane collision.
Each
day, the Smithsonian Institution's Feather Identification Laboratory receives about a dozen packages from around the
country, each containing tissue swabs of snarge for DNA analysis to identify the species of bird. The bird/plane collision data is used to improve aviation
safety by having flight plans that are less likely to encounter birds and by engineering more bird-resistant planes. For example, jet engines must
now be able to withstand the ingestion of an 8-pound waterfowl without failing (this is tested in the
lab by firing a chicken from a cannon at point-blank range).