Living without a head seems like an impossible mission, doesn't it? However, for a chicken named Mike, this reality lasted an incredible 18 months.
In the 1940s, in a city called Fruita, Colorado, United States, an unbelievable story happened. A farmer named Lloyd Olsen decided to kill one of his chickens on September 10, 1945, to serve it for dinner.
In order to leave most of the neck, Olsen made the cut very close to the chicken's head. At that moment, something unlikely happened: the animal simply ran away. Amazed by the fact, Olsen decided not to kill the bird and waited until the next day. To the farmer's surprise, the chicken was still alive the next day and was found with its head under its wings. The chicken could even make sounds.
Olsen realized that the animal had a great desire to stay alive and decided to take care of the chicken, starting to feed it and provide water through a tube. In order to clarify the mystery of the bird's survival, which was named after Mike, Olsen took him to the University of Utah for further study.
The explanation was actually quite simple: the cut made by the farmer did not injure the jugular and allowed part of the brainstem and ear to remain in the animal. This prevented large amounts of blood from being lost and vital activities from continuing, since part of the nervous system had been preserved.
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Mike was a chicken who lived 18 months without a head *
Such as bird did not die quickly, the farmer began a series of shows, presenting the chicken as a true miracle of nature. The farmer's bad cut meant that Mike stayed alive and Olsen made an incredible $4,500 a month with his show.
For 18 months, Mike stayed alive and generating profits for his owner. However, in March 1947, the chicken died of suffocation on a journey home.
Residents of small-town Colorado still remember Mike's impressive story and hold a festival annually in the third week of May to honor him. There is also an official website where you can learn about the history of chicken, see photographs and buy objects such as t-shirts, socks and blankets.
* Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
By Ma. Vanessa dos Santos
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SANTOS, Vanessa Sardinha dos. "Mike—The Story of the Headless Chicken"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/curiosidades/mike-historia-frango-sem-cabeca.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.