The ballistic broiler

In the 1950s, in a top-secret underground bunker somewhere in Virginia, aerospace researchers developed the MegaVeggie Roast-O-Matic 9000 to flash-broil enormous turnips. After a successful (and surprisingly tasty) test program, they transitioned from oversized root vegetables to missile nose cones, using the apparatus to simulate the intense temperature of atmospheric reentry from space. This research proved much more practical, albeit less nutritious