diff --git a/library/net/http/httpheader/add_field_spec.rb b/library/net/http/httpheader/add_field_spec.rb
index b736a92..c15d8c8 100644
--- a/library/net/http/httpheader/add_field_spec.rb
+++ b/library/net/http/httpheader/add_field_spec.rb
@@ -28,4 +28,8 @@ describe "Net::HTTPHeader#add_field when passed key, value" do
     @headers.add_field("MY-HEADER", "c")
     @headers.get_fields("My-Header").should == ["a", "b", "c"]
   end
+
+  it "doesn't blow up when setting header values to a non-UTF8 string" do
+    lambda { @headers['My-Header'] = "foo\255" }.should_not raise_error
+  end
 end
diff --git a/library/net/http/httpheader/element_set_spec.rb b/library/net/http/httpheader/element_set_spec.rb
index a5a2900..53d869f 100644
--- a/library/net/http/httpheader/element_set_spec.rb
+++ b/library/net/http/httpheader/element_set_spec.rb
@@ -38,4 +38,8 @@ describe "Net::HTTPHeader#[]= when passed key, value" do
     @headers['My-Header'] = false
     @headers['My-Header'].should be_nil
   end
+
+  it "doesn't blow up when setting header values to a non-UTF8 string" do
+    lambda { @headers['My-Header'] = "foo\255" }.should_not raise_error
+  end
 end