God bless America.
The incident happened around 8:15 a.m. Wednesday on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, North Carolina Highway Patrol said. The driver was not injured.
Highway patrol did not provide additional information.
HOW COULD YOU NOT PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION??
In a 911 call, obtained by WLOS-TV, the driver told the dispatcher that the cat did not survive.
'OK, you may not believe me, but I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield,' the 911 call said, according to WLOS. 'It absolutely shattered my windshield.'
'I had a witness who was like, "That is the craziest thing I've ever seen,'" the caller added.
There's no video because the ONE time people were actually driving instead of recording on their phones was when a bald eagle dropped a cat through a windshield on the highway.
Of course.
Actually, the average cat is 10 or so pounds, 2-3 times heavier than a coconut.
Bald eagles, which can weigh up to 12 pounds, can carry about half their bodyweight, or a little bit more than a heavy coconut.
Chances are the feline was a bit heavier than the eagle was expecting, and unlike a fish or rabbit, it has claws, teeth, and the disposition of a demon.
U.S. Route 74 in Swain County (the far western edge of North Carolina) has fewer lanes and a lower speed limit than it does farther east around major cities like Charlotte. This woman would have likely been going 55 mph.
Bald Eagles can fly up to 45 mph while carrying prey, but this kitty was beefier than expected, so let's say he was flying 30 mph in the opposite direction while fighting the demon furball 20 feet above the ground.
Let's assume the cat fell at a 39º angle into the oncoming car.
I'll skip some of the variables here, but using the magic of math, we can calculate that:
VERTICAL VELOCITY: v = √(2 × 9.81 × 6.1m) ≈ 10.95 m/s downward (~24.5 mph downward)
RESULTANT VELOCITY RELATIVE TO THE GROUND: √(13.4² + 10.95²) ≈ 17.3 m/s at a 39° downward angle
RELATIVE VELOCITY TO THE CAR: √(38² + 10.95²) ≈ 39.6 m/s (89 mph!!)
KINETIC ENERGY: KE = ½ × 4.54 × (39.6)² ≈ 3,555 Joules
This would be roughly equivalent to a 9-pound bowling ball being dropped on your windshield from 40 feet, or, for the gunpowder-inclined, a round of .40 Smith & Wesson fired directly through the windshield.
This would be enough to completely shatter a laminated windshield and cave it inward, similar to a small deer strike at highway speeds.
Which is exactly what the picture shows!
Sometimes, reality is crazier than satire.
That eagle better watch his back though. Cats are known for being dead, and then somehow being not so dead.
AND BOY DO THEY HOLD GRUDGES!
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