Mike the Headless Chicken

Friday, September 11, 2009   0 Comments

Discovering new factoid, stories and oddities (in this case) can occur just about anywhere. I learned about Mike the Headless Chicken from the Wikipedia front page. 64 years ago yesterday Mike (then known as dinner) survived his would be execution, lived for 18 months and became a quite the sensation in Fruita, Colorado.

The story goes, a woman sent her son-in-law to fetch a chicken for dinner. Measuring the bird up, he strikes what should be a fatal blow, however, Mike shook it off and continued to live. The ax missed his jugular vein and a good portion of the brain stem. Most of the chicken's functions such as breathing and heart rate are controlled in the brain stem, not the brain, and this was enough to keep Miracle Mike alive. Mike lived a good live trying to do normal chicken things.

Fed small pieces of corn and water through an eye dropper. Mike's second life began as a sideshow attraction with his buddy the two headed cow. He was displayed with a floating head in a jar, which wasn't actually his, as the cat got a hold of it before it could be saved. Quite the local celebrity, Time and Life magazines both featured him. 18 months after his would be death, Mike choke on a piece of corn.

Fruita still celebrates Mike with a 'Mike the Headless Chicken Day'. Festivities include Egg Tosses, Chicken Bingo, Chicken Dance and I'm pretty sure a good serving of fried chicken.

Links:

• Website: http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/

Labels: americana, Animal, chicken, Colorado, death, United States, weird