Mike the Headless Chicken

Mike the Headless Chicken (April 20, 1945 – March 17, 1947), also known as Miracle Mike,[1] was a Wyandotte chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off. Although the story was thought by many to be a hoax, the bird's owner took him to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to establish the facts.[1][2]

Mike

Other name(s)	Miracle Mike
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.
Owner	Lloyd Olsen
Appearance	Sideshows

Beheading

On September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colorado, 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.[3][4]

Due to Olsen's failed attempt to behead Mike, the chicken was still able to balance on a perch and walk clumsily. He attempted to preen, peck for food, and crow, though with limited success; his "crowing" consisted of a gurgling sound made in his throat.[3] 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 and worms.[3][5]

Fame

Once his fame had been established, Mike began a career of touring sideshows in the company of such other creatures as a two-headed baby. He was also photographed for dozens of magazines and papers, and was featured in Time and Life magazines.[3] Mike was put on display to the public for an admission cost of 25 cents. At the height of his popularity, the chicken's owner earned US$4,500 per month ($51,500 today);[6] Mike was valued at $10,000.

Death

In March 1947, at a motel in Phoenix on a stopover while traveling back from tour, Mike started choking in the middle of the night. He had managed to get a kernel of corn in his throat. 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 it therefore choked to death in the motel.[2]

Explanation of the case

It was determined that the axe had missed the jugular vein[7] 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.[7]

Legacy

Mike the Headless Chicken is now an institution in Fruita, Colorado, with an annual "Mike the Headless Chicken Day", the third weekend of May, starting in 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.[8]

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.[9]

References

1. "Mike's Story". Mike the Headless Chicken. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
2. "The chicken that lived for 18 months without a head". BBC News Online. September 10, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
3. Lloyd, John; Mitchinson, John (2006). The Book of General Ignorance. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-23368-6.
4. "The Rooster". Time Inc. October 29, 1945. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
5. "Beheaded Chicken Calmly Lives On". Salt Lake Tribune. September 19, 1945. p. 17. Retrieved September 10, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
7. Lambert, Kelly; Kinsley, Craig; Kinsley, Craig H. (2004). Clinical Neuroscience. Worth Publishers. pp. 84–. ISBN 978-0-7167-5227-1.
8. "Mike the Headless Chicken Day". salon.com. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
9. "The Radioactive Chicken Heads - "Headless Mike"". Funny or Die. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2016.

Bibliography

• Amy Reiter (1999). "Mike the Headless Chicken more popular than Clinton". Salon. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
• Charles Furneaux, executive producer; Gregory Diefenbach, producer; Mark Lewis, producer (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.

External links

• Mike the Headless Chicken.org at City of Fruita
• Mike the Headless Chicken at The Straight Dope
• Mike the Headless Chicken at Life magazine