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Kitchen Table Kibitzing 9/10/25: No Head, No Problem [1]
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Date: 2025-09-10
Nobody ever walked away from the guillotine. In vertebrate anatomy, the head is a vital part. The animal can’t survive with out it. Except for Mike. Mike did things differently.
It all started with the Olsen family, who were farmers living in Fruita, Colorado in September of 1945. During the 40’s many farmers supplemented their rations with selling eggs, milk, chicken, and preserving food. The Olsens were no different and were preparing a batch of 40-50 chickens for market. Lloyd would cut heads and Clara would pluck and clean the chickens. It is not uncommon for a chicken to flop or stagger for a few minutes after beheading, but one young rooster was still alive after processing of chickens was done for the day. When Lloyd realized that one of the chickens was still alive the next morning, he decided to see if he could keep it alive. Before long, word spread around the neighborhood and local folks were coming by to see the headless chicken at the Olsen farm.
A promoter named Hope Wade heard about the famous chicken and came by to see it. He convinced the Olsens to take the chicken over to the University of Utah in Salt Lake to see if scientists could document that there truly was a “headless chicken” living in Fruita, Colorado. Scientists determined that part of one ear, the jugular vein, and the base of the brain that controls motor functions were left intact allowing Mike to continue to live on. Local papers in Salt Lake were spreading the news that a chicken was alive without a head and in their town for a visit. Folks wanted to see the famous fowl and a small side show was set up in Salt Lake. Before long, Life magazine came out to Salt Lake to take photos that would be featured in the magazine in October 22, 1945. Only a month and a half after Mike’s beheading, he was featured in one of the country’s most prominent magazines!
Mike’s next stop was a sideshow attraction on the boardwalk in Long Beach, California. The boardwalk was a popular attraction with wartime troops and Mike was well received. As Lloyd Olsen put it “When the big ships would come in those sailors would flock to see Mike.”. A ticket to see Mike at the sideshow was $0.25 (the equivalent of about $2.50 today) and there are estimates that at his peak, Mike was drawing in up to 600 people a day. In his life, Mike not only graced the sideshow of Long Beach but also went to Phoenix, Arizona and the Southeast USA.
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