Portuguese chicken invades Spanish airspace

A plucky Portuguese cockerel has added extra weight to the theory that model aircraft and High Altitude Ballooning payloads are magnetically drawn to trees by soaring to a heady 33,252m before crash landing in a bewildered Spanish villager's fig tree. The flying rooster seen in the stratosphere The Galo de Barcelos (Rooster …

[Adrian 4]

Really ?

A ROAST chicken ?

Exceptional.

[Busby]

Re: Really ?

I was wondering about that as well. Other than a sizzle or crackle just what noise can a roast chicken make?

[Vociferous]

Re: Really ?

If I was a suspicious kind of person I'd have suspected that the guy may have had an accomplice.

I wonder if this defense would stand up in court today? "Your Honor, I am innocent, and this box of Chicken McNuggets will prove it!"

[TheVogon]

Re: Really ?

Did they search it for smuggled cigarettes?

[Mtech25]

No Doubt

with tension increasing over Gibraltar UK oldest allies the Portuguese are currently working on a cunning plan, I suspect it has something to do with bird flu or mass deforestation.

[Dan 55]

Careful now

If the politicos hear about this news they'll probably add it to their anti-corruption/economy smokescreen. Proud Spain under attack from all sides from ancient enemies and all that.

[bill 36]

like it

But see what you've started :>)

So how about multiple camera angles on LOHAN, that would be really cool!

[Lester Haines]

Re: like it

We have a rack of cameras available for LOHAN, so yes, multiple angles ahoy.

[bill 36]

Re: like it

How do you say "what the fuck is this" in Spanish?

The look on the old guys face is priceless.

cheers

[dorsetknob]

Re: like it

'lo que joder es this'

[Lester Haines]

Re: Re: like it

¿Qué coño es esto?

[PipV]

Re: like it

Hola Amigo, creo que... '¿qué coño es esto?'

Saludos

[Anomalous Cowshed]

How do you say "What the fuck is this?" in Spanish

Most likely: "Whatte de fac iz dis?"

[Mephistro]

There are are several variants of this legend all over Europe

The most famous here in Spain is the one from Santo Domingo de la Calzada.

A theory says that all of them share a Celtic origin. Another theory says that this was a common trick played by stage magicians or their Medieval equivalents back then. The trick was performed by drugging the bird unconscious, plucking its feathers and then applying honey and other substances to give the impression that it had roasted.

Do fellow commentards know of any other versions of this legend?

[El Gokri'x]

Cock lands on Rutland tree?

[ukgnome]

Is this an actual cock up?

[Thomas 4]

Definitely not

It looks like a highly successful venture, all things considered. Something to crow about certainly.

[Jemma]

I'm just wondering how many of the Ogg family were involved & whether any broomsticks were mentioned...

[cortland]

Headology's the trick

Better'n magic. Ask Esme Weatherwax.

[David Nash]

Great that the link at the end of the article offers me a white paper on "Planning a move to the cloud"!

[D@v3]

Nandos

Nobody else care to mention that The Galo de Barcelos is the logo / mascot for the Nandos spicy flamegrilled chicken emporium, and that the legend as described is scrawled on their walls (at least in every one I've ever been to)

(shame the XXHot sauce isn't as hot as this -->)

[Anonymous Coward]

Charming!

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Bonus Question:

How much of the horizon's curvature we see in this kind of (excellent) pictures is due to the actual Earth globe curvature, and how much to the lenses used (i.e. fish-eye effect)?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Charming!

0.000001%, and whatever 100 minus that is.

[Grumpy Fellow]

Helium?

Given that it is a one way trip for the buoyant gas in the balloon (great video of the bursting), why not use Hydrogen? I'm not complaining, mind you, just curious what the trade off is.

[cortland]

Re: Helium?

Price (more) and lift (less). That's my guess.