WasteOfTechnology.com » Great Moments in the History of Earth: Bird Hits Fabio’s Face While He Rides a Rollercoaster

March 30, 1999, a day that will live in infamy.

For years there had been a small percentage of the population who didn’t trust large scale roller coasters and their parent theme parks. They questioned the safety measures of the park and in turn, this small group, warned of the possible threat. On March 30, 1999, even the most ardent skeptics of the safety of roller coasters were silent.

Was this because drastic measures had been taken to silence any doubters? Negative. Fabio was hit by a bird while on the descent of the then new Apollo’s Chariot roller coaster at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. (I was in this same exact seat that Fabio was sitting in!) On the way down the coaster, heading at 73 mph a stray bird struck Fabio’s face leaving a 1 inch gash on the bridge of his nose.

I dare not even calculate the odds of this happening.
I have never heard of this particular type of roller coaster incident before and, although it must have happened some time in the history of coaster riding, it is far from common. Furthermore, what are the odds, of Fabio being on the same roller coaster to experience such an incident? And beyond that, what are the chances of Fabio being the passenger struck by the bird? The idea of the promotion was"Modern-day Adonis (Fabio) vs. Ancient-Day Sun God." The gods truly were on our side that faithful day of March 30, 1999.

After the accident, a Busch Gardens spokesperson had said (No doubt with a chuckle), "We’re very sorry that it happened. It was an act of nature."

Fabio however didn’t take it very lightly. Next time, a like-incident "could cause more serious accidents or possibly a child’s death," he had warned.

The bird that hit him, a goose of some sort, died but its sacrifice was well worth it. Fabio meanwhile has remained far from the spotlight since the incident, most likely due to the fact that a few years after the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter commercials stopped airing, people realized that there was no reason for Fabio to remain famous. We have no leads on the current whereabouts of Fabio but word has it he is anxiously waiting for a new edition of Wizards and Warriors to appear on the box cover of in order to boost his popularity amongst youngsters the way it did with Iron Sword.