In 1945 Lloyd Olsen lopped off the head of a rooster. Instead of dropping dead and becoming dinner, the rooster walked away from the chopping block went back to hanging out with the rest of the chickens.
He didn’t just live for the rest of the afternoon … he lived for a year and a half!
Lloyd got kinda fond of the rooster. Named him Mike.
The headless life and times of Mike was documented in Life and Time magazines and even got a listing in the Guinness Book of Records. He had a manager and toured the U.S. with other sideshow freaks. He was studied by scientists, who determined an intact brain stem was keeping Mike going. He finally died from choking on a corn kernel.
Today, Fruita clebrates Mike the Headless Chicken Day with a 5K Run Like a Headless Chicken race, egg tosses, chicken jokes, a chicken lunch and chicken bingo, in which numbers are chosen by where chicken droppings fall on a numbered grid.
Photo Courtesy of Miketheheadlesschicken.org
