Mike The Headless Chicken
Mike the Headless Chicken was 'born' in 1945 in Fruita, Colorado. He was one of a number of chickens to be killed for food.. The actually slaughter by his owner Lloyd Olsen went a bit wrong and 'Mike' survived, without a head. He lived two years without his head!
It is assumed that a big enough portion of brain stem remained and that Mike just had a lot of will power. With the feeding assistance of his farmer owner Mike survived and actually went on to be a celebrity touring the country and appearing in newspapers and magazines.
Mike died in 1947 but lives on in the 'Mike The Headless Chicken' Festival which takes place in Fruita, Colorado on the third weekend of May every year. People gather from all over to eat chicken, talk about chickens, play chicken games and generally have a clucking good time.