Miracle Mike, the headless chicken
On September 10, 1945, Lloyd Olsen was slaughtering chickens on his farm in Fruita, Colorado. Among his unfortunate victims that day was a Wyandotte rooster named Mike. Like many chickens, Mike’s headless body kept running around for a few moments after decapitation. Unlike other chickens, however, Mike kept going. And scratching. And trying to eat.
When Mike was still on his feet the next morning, showing no intention of behaving like a corpse, Lloyd saw an opportunity. ‘Miracle Mike’ the headless chicken soon became a sensation on the sideshow circuit. On some estimates Mike was pulling in the equivalent of $50,000 a month in today’s money; Lloyd was able to buy new farm equipment and treated himself to a new Chevy pickup.
Like most celebrities, Mike relied pretty heavily
