173 foot speed question

An article in the New York Times on do-it-yourself home-repair accidents included the observation that a foot moving toward a bedpost, door frame, or other such stationary object is moving at 60 miles per hour. Is this true? How would we calculate it, or design an experiment to find out?

My grandmother did not like cats. (I do.) Once she aimed for the cat — with her foot, I am sorry to say — and hit the door instead. Or maybe it was the piano. In any case, she broke her foot. The article notes that this is called an inelastic collision.

Anyone with an e-mail address ending in .edu can get a subscription to the New York Times for free — not just some of it, all of it, including the parts that other people pay $50 a year to get. Can't find the link today...