Mike the Headless Chicken
There are three things certain in life. Death, taxes, and that people will go to the ends of the earth to please their mother in law. While attempting to prepare an impressive meal, Lloyd and Clara Olsen ended up with a headless chicken on their hands.
History
The legend began on September 10th, 1945 in Fruita, Colorado, where the Olsen family was expecting a particularly meticulous houseguest, Clara’s mother. Recognizing the stakes, Lloyd knew he had to come to the table with a jaw-dropping spread. Clara’s mother loved fried chicken, and Lloyd took to the backyard to start the preparations. The unlucky selection ended up being a 5 1/2 pound Wyandott chicken named Mike.
Survival
When the time came, Lloyd chopped at Mike’s head to get it over with. Rumor has it that the Olsen in law was fond of the chicken neck, so Lloyd’d goal was to preserve as much as he could. Trying to keep the neck intact altered his aim ever so slightly. After the blow, Mike stumbled around quite literally like a chicken with its head cut off. The ax missed the jugular vein and a blood clot prevented him from bleeding out. 80% of Mike’s brain stem was intact and somehow, miraculously, Mike was still alive.
The brain stem controls reflexes, breathing, and heart rate. So Mike was still able to perform basic bodily functions.
Mike was still chock full of life when the Olsen’s checked on him the following morning. They decided if Mike had this much will to keep going, they would have to try to take care of him. They managed to feed Mike grain and water via an eyedropper. The Olsens couldn’t ignore that there was something particularly special about this chicken. So, Lloyd packed up his feathered friend and drove 250 miles to the University of Utah.
During Mike’s time decapitated, he was every bit of a celebrity. He began touring sideshows and was photographed for dozens of magazines and news outlets. He even earned himself a feature in TIME and LIFE magazine. His clout inevitably raked in a lot of money for the Olsens. Audience members would pay 25 cents admission to view him in public. On average, Mike would bring in about $4,500 per month, equal to $51,500 by today’s measures. Mike himself was set to be valued at $10,000, or $140,000 today.
Legacy
Unfortunately, Mike choked on a kennel of corn at a motel in Phoenix March 1947. In his honor, ‘Mike the Headless Chicken Day’ was established in 1999 and the tradition has persisted. The event includes egg tossing, a chicken cluck off, chicken bingo, and a 5K race run ‘headless chicken style’. The celebration is held on the 3rd weekend of May, every year since it’s beginning.
He also inspired poultry themed comedy punk band known as the Radioactive Chicken Heads. They released a single in 2008 by the name of, “Headless Mike”.
Mike certainly made some noise across plenty of avenues of American culture. His tale is one of the strangest in animal history.