BEagle quotes an old tale:
...Probably an urban myth, but one can only wonder at the surprised expression on the cat's face as it hurtled backwards towards the test item!
I heard the same story prolly 15 years ago, told of an engine test that scattered bits of blades over half the county. I had always regarded it as largely true, but a recent check of
snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages says it is apocryphal at best.
But still a good tale!