Mike the Headless Chicken: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Chicken who survived without a head (1945–1947)}} |
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{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} |
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{{Use American English|date=August 2023}} |
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{{Infobox animal |
{{Infobox animal |
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| name = Mike |
| name = Mike |
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| image = MikeTheHeadlessChicken.jpg |
| image = MikeTheHeadlessChicken.jpg |
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| image_size |
| image_size = |
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| caption = |
| caption = |
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| birth_name |
| birth_name = |
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| othername = Miracle Mike |
| othername = Miracle Mike |
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| species = ''[[ |
| species = ''[[Gallus gallus domesticus]]'' |
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| breed = [[Wyandotte |
| breed = [[Wyandotte chicken|Wyandotte]] |
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| gender = Male |
| gender = Male |
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| |
| hatch_date = April 20, 1945 |
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| hatch_place = [[Fruita, Colorado]], U.S. |
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| death_date = March 17, 1947 (aged 23 months) |
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| death_place = [[Phoenix, Arizona]], U.S. |
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| resting_place = |
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| resting_place_coordinates = |
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| resting_place = |
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| employer = |
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| role = |
| role = |
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| years_active |
| years_active = |
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| known = |
| known = |
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| tricks = |
| tricks = |
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| weight = |
| weight = |
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| height = |
| height = |
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| appearance = |
| appearance = Sideshows |
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| namedafter = |
| namedafter = |
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| website = |
| website = |
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|death_cause=Death by choking}} |
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}} |
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'''Mike the Headless Chicken''' (April 20, 1945 |
'''Mike the Headless Chicken''' (April 20, 1945{{spnd}}March 17, 1947)<ref name=story>{{cite web| title=Mike's Story| url=http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org| publisher=Mike the Headless Chicken| year=2007| access-date=May 28, 2012| archive-date=May 26, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526080119/http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/| url-status=live}}</ref> was a male [[Wyandotte chicken]] that lived for 18 months after he was beheaded, surviving because most of his [[brain stem]] remained intact and it did not bleed to death due to a [[blood clot]]. After the beheading, Mike achieved national fame until his death in March 1947. In [[Fruita, Colorado]], United States, an annual "Mike the Headless Chicken Day" is held in May. Mike has the record for the longest surviving chicken without a head on [[Guinness World Records]]. |
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==Beheading== |
==Beheading== |
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On September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of [[Fruita, Colorado |
On September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of [[Fruita, Colorado]], [[United States]], was planning to eat supper with his mother-in-law and was sent out to the yard by his wife to bring back a chicken. Olsen chose a five-and-a-half-month-old [[Wyandotte chicken]] named Mike. The axe removed the bulk of the head, but missed the [[jugular vein]], leaving one ear and most of the [[brain stem]] intact.<ref name="Lloyd">{{cite book |last1=Mitchinson |first1=John |author-link1=John Mitchinson (researcher) |last2=Lloyd |first2=John |author-link2=John Lloyd (writer) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Mjd2GCRPmAC&pg=PA7 |title=The Book of General Ignorance |pages=7–8 |year=2007 |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group|Crown]] |isbn=978-0-307-40551-7 |access-date=September 10, 2020 |archive-date=September 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200910101808/https://books.google.com/books?id=1Mjd2GCRPmAC&pg=PA7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The Rooster | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,776319,00.html | publisher=Time Inc. | date=October 29, 1945 | access-date=November 13, 2008 | archive-date=January 31, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131170343/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,776319,00.html | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Vaughan |first=Don |title=How Mike the Chicken Survived Without a Head |url=https://www.britannica.com/story/how-mike-the-chicken-survived-without-a-head |access-date=2023-09-10 |website=www.britannica.com |publisher=Britannica}}</ref> |
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Despite Olsen's attempt to behead Mike, the chicken could still balance on a perch and walk clumsily. It attempted to [[Preening|preen]], peck for food, and crow, though with limited success; his "crowing" consisted of a gurgling sound made in his throat.<ref name="Lloyd"/> When Mike did not die, Olsen decided to care for the bird. He fed it a mixture of milk and water via an eyedropper and gave it small grains of corn and worms.<ref name="Lloyd"/><ref>{{cite news |date=September 19, 1945 |title=Beheaded Chicken Calmly Lives On |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23633791/beheaded_chicken_calmly_lives_on/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911114545/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23633791/beheaded_chicken_calmly_lives_on/ |archive-date=September 11, 2018 |access-date=September 10, 2018 |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |page=17 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{free access}}</ref> |
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When Mike did not die, Olsen instead decided to care for the bird. He fed it a mixture of milk and water via an eyedropper, and gave it small grains of corn.<ref name="Lloyd"/> |
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==Fame== |
==Fame== |
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Once his fame had been established, Mike began a career of touring [[sideshow]]s in the company of such other |
Once his fame had been established, Mike began a career of touring [[sideshow]]s in the company of such other anomalies as a two-headed baby. It was also photographed for dozens of magazines and papers, and was featured in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' and ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazines.<ref name="Lloyd"/> Mike was put on display to the public for an admission cost of 25 cents ({{Inflation|US|0.25|1947|r=0|fmt=eq}}). At the height of his popularity, the chicken's owner earned $4,500 per month ({{Inflation|US|4500|1947|r=-2|fmt=eq}});{{Inflation-fn|US}} Mike was valued at $10,000 ({{Inflation|US|10000|1947|r=-2|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="Lloyd"/> |
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Mike was put on display to the public for an admission cost of twenty-five cents. At the height of his popularity, the chicken's owner earned [[US$]]4,500 per month (${{Inflation|US|4500|1947|r=-2|fmt=c}} today){{Inflation-fn|US}} and was valued at $10,000.<ref name="Lloyd"/> |
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==Death== |
==Death== |
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In March 1947, at a [[motel]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona |
In March 1947, at a [[motel]] in [[Phoenix, Arizona]] on a stopover while traveling back from tour, Mike started choking on his mucus in the middle of the night.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="BBC Online 10 September 2015" /> The Olsens had inadvertently left their feeding and cleaning syringes at the sideshow the day before, and so were unable to save Mike. Olsen claimed that he had sold the bird off, resulting in stories of Mike still touring the country as late as 1949. Other sources say that the chicken's severed [[trachea]] could not properly take in enough air to be able to breathe, and he therefore choked to death in the motel.<ref name="BBC Online 10 September 2015">{{cite web| title= The chicken that lived for 18 months without a head| url= https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34198390| author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->| date= September 10, 2015| website= BBC News Online| access-date= September 12, 2015| archive-date= September 11, 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150911234530/http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34198390| url-status= live}}</ref> |
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==Explanation of the case== |
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==Post mortem== |
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It was determined |
It was determined that the axe had missed the [[jugular vein]]<ref name="Lambert"/> and a [[clot]] had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was severed, most of his [[brain stem]] and one ear were left on his body. Since basic functions (breathing, heart rate, etc.) as well as most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem, Mike was able to remain quite healthy. This is a good example of [[Central pattern generator|central motor generators]] enabling basic [[homeostatic]] functions to be carried out in the absence of higher brain centres.<ref name="Lambert">{{cite book|first1=Kelly|last1=Lambert|first2=Craig|last2=Kinsley|first3=Craig H.|last3=Kinsley|title=Clinical Neuroscience|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OgdMLO0CdMC&pg=PA84|date=2004|publisher=Worth Publishers|isbn=978-0-7167-5227-1|page=84|access-date=October 12, 2016|archive-date=September 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200910101810/https://books.google.com/books?id=6OgdMLO0CdMC&pg=PA84|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, birds possess a secondary balance organ in the pelvic region, the [[Vestibular system#Other vertebrates|lumbosacral organ]], which controls walking locomotion virtually independently from the vestibular organ involved in flight.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Necker |first=R. |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00359-006-0105-x |title=Specializations in the lumbosacral vertebral canal and spinal cord of birds: evidence of a function as a sense organ which is involved in the control of walking |journal=[[Journal of Comparative Physiology A]] |volume=192 |issue=5 |pages=439–448 |date=2006 |access-date=September 10, 2020 |doi=10.1007/s00359-006-0105-x |pmid=16450117 |s2cid=1922751}}</ref> This has been used to explain how a headless chicken can walk and balance, despite the destruction of much of the cranial [[vestibular system]].<ref>{{cite conference |last=Daley |first=Monica A. |url=http://adaptivemotion.org/AMAM2017/files/proceedings/2A2.pdf |title=Principles of bipedal locomotion: Sensorimotor and mechanical integration for stability and agility |location=Hokkaido University, Sapporo |conference=The 8th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines |publisher=AMAM |date=June 27–30, 2017 |access-date=September 10, 2020}}</ref> |
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==Legacy== |
==Legacy== |
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Mike the Headless Chicken is |
Mike the Headless Chicken is a cultural institution in Fruita, Colorado, with an annual "Mike the Headless Chicken Day", the third weekend of May since 1999. Events held include the "5K Run Like a Headless Chicken Race", [[egg toss]], "Pin the Head on the Chicken", the "Chicken Cluck-Off", and "Chicken Bingo", in which chicken droppings on a numbered grid choose the numbers.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://dir.salon.com/story/travel/planet/2000/01/06/chicken/ | title=Mike the Headless Chicken Day | work=[[salon.com]] | access-date=October 28, 2008 | archive-date=January 31, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131160041/http://dir.salon.com/story/travel/planet/2000/01/06/chicken | url-status=live }}</ref> |
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Mike the Headless Chicken was an inspiration for the poultry-themed comedy punk band [[The Radioactive Chicken Heads]], serving as the subject of their 2008 song "Headless Mike", for which a music video was filmed. The band also features a Headless Mike puppet which is frequently used in their live shows.{{ |
Mike the Headless Chicken was an inspiration for the poultry-themed comedy punk band [[The Radioactive Chicken Heads]], serving as the subject of their 2008 song "Headless Mike", for which a music video was filmed. The band also features a Headless Mike puppet which is frequently used in their live shows.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/a73abcde00/radioactive-chicken-heads-headless-mike-music-video?_cc=__d___&_ccid=false |publisher=[[Funny or Die]] |title=The Radioactive Chicken Heads - "Headless Mike" |access-date=June 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820055033/http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/a73abcde00/radioactive-chicken-heads-headless-mike-music-video?_cc=__d___&_ccid=false |archive-date=August 20, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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==See also== |
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Mike the Headless Chicken inspired Reiner Braun's character development in Attack on Titan chapter 77.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Attack on Titan 77 - Page 34 - Manga Stream|url = http://readms.com/r/attack_on_titan/77/3155/34|website = readms.com|accessdate = 2016-01-09}}</ref> |
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{{portal|United States|Colorado}} |
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* [[List of individual birds]] |
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{{clear}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==Bibliography== |
==Bibliography== |
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{{Refbegin}} |
{{Refbegin}} |
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*{{cite news | |
*{{cite news |author=Reiter |first=Amy |title=Mike the Headless Chicken more popular than Clinton |url=https://www.salon.com/1999/05/12/snl/ |work=Salon |year=1999 |access-date=March 8, 2008 |archive-date=November 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114192747/http://www.salon.com/1999/05/12/snl/ |url-status=live}} |
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* {{cite video | |
* {{cite video |title=The Natural History of the Chicken |url=http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=1428832&cp=&sr=1&kw=the+natural+history+of+the+chicken&origkw=The+Natural+History+of+the+Chicken&parentPage=search |medium=Video |publisher=PBS Home Video |date=2001 |last=Furneaux |first=Charles |last2=Diefenbach |first2=Gregory |last3=Lewis |first3=Mark |url-status=dead |access-date=October 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701145338/http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=1428832&cp=&sr=1&kw=the+natural+history+of+the+chicken&origkw=The+Natural+History+of+the+Chicken&parentPage=search |archive-date=July 1, 2014}} |
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* {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |last=Silverman |first=Steve |title=Einstein's Refrigerator: And Other Stories from the Flip Side of History |location=Kansas City, Missouri |publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=0-7407-1419-8}} |
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{{Refend}} |
{{Refend}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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<!-- {{sister project links|auto=yes}} --> |
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* [http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/ Mike the Headless Chicken.org] at [[City of Fruita]] |
* [http://www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/ Mike the Headless Chicken.org] at [[City of Fruita]] |
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* [ |
* [https://www.straightdope.com/21342151/is-it-possible-for-a-chicken-to-live-with-its-head-cut-off Is It Possible for a Chicken to Live with Its Head Cut Off?] at ''[[The Straight Dope]]'' |
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* [http://life.time.com/curiosities/mike-the-headless-chicken/?iid=lf%7Clatest#1 Mike the Headless Chicken] at [[Life (magazine)|''Life'' magazine]] |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120702210633/http://life.time.com/curiosities/mike-the-headless-chicken/?iid=lf%7Clatest#1 Mike the Headless Chicken] at [[Life (magazine)|''Life'' magazine]] |
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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqDjRCHyjTY Mike the Headless Chicken] at [[YouTube]] |
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{{Authority control}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mike The Headless Chicken}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mike The Headless Chicken}} |
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[[Category:1945 animal births]] |
[[Category:1945 animal births]] |
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[[Category:1947 animal deaths]] |
[[Category:1947 animal deaths]] |
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[[Category:Animal world record holders]] |
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[[Category:Individual chickens]] |
[[Category:Individual chickens]] |
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[[Category:Mesa County, Colorado]] |
[[Category:Mesa County, Colorado]] |
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[[Category:Individual |
[[Category:Individual birds in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Decapitation]] |
Latest revision as of 14:34, 21 December 2024
Other name(s) | Miracle Mike |
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Species | Gallus gallus domesticus |
Breed | Wyandotte |
Sex | Male |
Hatched | April 20, 1945 Fruita, Colorado, U.S. |
Died | March 17, 1947 (aged 23 months) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
Cause of death | Death by choking |
Owner | Lloyd Olsen |
Appearance | Sideshows |
Mike the Headless Chicken (April 20, 1945 – March 17, 1947)[1] was a male Wyandotte chicken that lived for 18 months after he was beheaded, surviving because most of his brain stem remained intact and it did not bleed to death due to a blood clot. After the beheading, Mike achieved national fame until his death in March 1947. In Fruita, Colorado, United States, an annual "Mike the Headless Chicken Day" is held in May. Mike has the record for the longest surviving chicken without a head on Guinness World Records.
Beheading
On September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colorado, United States, was planning to eat supper with his mother-in-law and was sent out to the yard by his wife to bring back a chicken. Olsen chose a five-and-a-half-month-old Wyandotte chicken named Mike. The axe removed the bulk of the head, but missed the jugular vein, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact.[2][3][4]
Despite Olsen's attempt to behead Mike, the chicken could still balance on a perch and walk clumsily. It attempted to preen, peck for food, and crow, though with limited success; his "crowing" consisted of a gurgling sound made in his throat.[2] When Mike did not die, Olsen decided to care for the bird. He fed it a mixture of milk and water via an eyedropper and gave it small grains of corn and worms.[2][5]
Fame
Once his fame had been established, Mike began a career of touring sideshows in the company of such other anomalies as a two-headed baby. It was also photographed for dozens of magazines and papers, and was featured in Time and Life magazines.[2] Mike was put on display to the public for an admission cost of 25 cents (equivalent to $3 in 2023). At the height of his popularity, the chicken's owner earned $4,500 per month (equivalent to $61,400 in 2023);[6] Mike was valued at $10,000 (equivalent to $136,500 in 2023).[2]
Death
In March 1947, at a motel in Phoenix, Arizona on a stopover while traveling back from tour, Mike started choking on his mucus in the middle of the night.[4][7] The Olsens had inadvertently left their feeding and cleaning syringes at the sideshow the day before, and so were unable to save Mike. Olsen claimed that he had sold the bird off, resulting in stories of Mike still touring the country as late as 1949. Other sources say that the chicken's severed trachea could not properly take in enough air to be able to breathe, and he therefore choked to death in the motel.[7]
Explanation of the case
It was determined that the axe had missed the jugular vein[8] and a clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was severed, most of his brain stem and one ear were left on his body. Since basic functions (breathing, heart rate, etc.) as well as most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem, Mike was able to remain quite healthy. This is a good example of central motor generators enabling basic homeostatic functions to be carried out in the absence of higher brain centres.[8] In addition, birds possess a secondary balance organ in the pelvic region, the lumbosacral organ, which controls walking locomotion virtually independently from the vestibular organ involved in flight.[9] This has been used to explain how a headless chicken can walk and balance, despite the destruction of much of the cranial vestibular system.[10]
Legacy
Mike the Headless Chicken is a cultural institution in Fruita, Colorado, with an annual "Mike the Headless Chicken Day", the third weekend of May since 1999. Events held include the "5K Run Like a Headless Chicken Race", egg toss, "Pin the Head on the Chicken", the "Chicken Cluck-Off", and "Chicken Bingo", in which chicken droppings on a numbered grid choose the numbers.[11]
Mike the Headless Chicken was an inspiration for the poultry-themed comedy punk band The Radioactive Chicken Heads, serving as the subject of their 2008 song "Headless Mike", for which a music video was filmed. The band also features a Headless Mike puppet which is frequently used in their live shows.[12]
See also
References
- ^ "Mike's Story". Mike the Headless Chicken. 2007. Archived from the original on May 26, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Mitchinson, John; Lloyd, John (2007). The Book of General Ignorance. Crown. pp. 7–8. ISBN 978-0-307-40551-7. Archived from the original on September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ "The Rooster". Time Inc. October 29, 1945. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
- ^ a b Vaughan, Don. "How Mike the Chicken Survived Without a Head". www.britannica.com. Britannica. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
- ^ "Beheaded Chicken Calmly Lives On". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 19, 1945. p. 17. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ a b "The chicken that lived for 18 months without a head". BBC News Online. September 10, 2015. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ^ a b Lambert, Kelly; Kinsley, Craig; Kinsley, Craig H. (2004). Clinical Neuroscience. Worth Publishers. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-7167-5227-1. Archived from the original on September 10, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
- ^ Necker, R. (2006). "Specializations in the lumbosacral vertebral canal and spinal cord of birds: evidence of a function as a sense organ which is involved in the control of walking". Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 192 (5): 439–448. doi:10.1007/s00359-006-0105-x. PMID 16450117. S2CID 1922751. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ Daley, Monica A. (June 27–30, 2017). Principles of bipedal locomotion: Sensorimotor and mechanical integration for stability and agility (PDF). The 8th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines. Hokkaido University, Sapporo: AMAM. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
- ^ "Mike the Headless Chicken Day". salon.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
- ^ "The Radioactive Chicken Heads - "Headless Mike"". Funny or Die. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
Bibliography
- Reiter, Amy (1999). "Mike the Headless Chicken more popular than Clinton". Salon. Archived from the original on November 14, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
- Furneaux, Charles; Diefenbach, Gregory; Lewis, Mark (2001). The Natural History of the Chicken (Video). PBS Home Video. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- Silverman, Steve (2001). Einstein's Refrigerator: And Other Stories from the Flip Side of History. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 0-7407-1419-8.