The weekly newsletter for Fed2 by ibgames

EARTHDATE: July 2, 2006

Official News - page 8

REAL LIFE NEWS: ARTIFICIAL HURRICANE TO DESTROY HOUSE

A two-storey family home in Canada will be deliberately flattened by scientists, who want to understand how buildings react to hurricane force winds.

The scientists will huff, and they will puff, they will blow the house down... well, actually, they will use a computer-controlled simulator which will create the equivalent of 200mp gusts. This will simulate a category five hurricane, like Hurricane Katrina at its peak.

The team from the University of Western Ontario hopes its work will help with building plans in areas such as New Orleans. They will carry out the tests in a hangar near London International Airport in Ontario, known as the "three little pigs" facility. No, really. See, scientists do have a sense of humor after all!


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