Amazing Headless Chicken

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September 10, 1945 was a pivotal day in the life of Mike the rooster. Lloyd Olsen went to cut Mike's head off so that they could have him for dinner. Since his mother-in-law loved chicken neck, Lloyd was careful to cut close to the head. He cut off the rooster's head and Mike ran around in circles flapping his wings just like any other chicken. However, unlike any other chicken, instead of dropping dead at this point, he ran back to the coop and joined the rest of the chickens searching for food. The next morning Lloyd checked back and found Mike asleep in the hen house. Mike continued to live so Lloyd fed and gave water to Mike using an eye dropper to drop it directly into Mike's neck. After Mike had lived for a whole week, they took the bird to the University of Utah to determine how it was still alive. The scientist found that a blood clot had kept Mike from bleeding to death. Additionally, his brain stem, which controls a chicken's reflex actions, had been left intact. Lloyd took Mike on a tour of the U.S. charging people a quarter each to see him. He was featured in Time and Life magazines and made the Guinness Book of World Records. He lived for 18 months without a head before choking to death on some food. This story may seem crazy but it actually happened. I couldn't believe it when my husband was telling me about it but they still celebrate Mike in state of Colorado. What other crazy things like this have you heard about? This story was adapted from a version in The Unstoppable Bathroom Reader.