And More Fowl Play...

Here's a short exerpt from an article published recently in the The Straits Times (9 Feb 2005):

"On Sept 10, 1945, a chicken called Mike from Fruita in Colorado had its head chopped off to be served as food, leaving behind most of the brain stem and an ear. Apparently, the axe blade had missed the jugular vein and a clot had prevented Mide from bleeding to death. Its owner decided to keep the headless chicken alive by feeding him grain and water directly into his gullet using an eyedropper. Mike eventually choked to death one night in an Arizona motel while travelling with his owner. He is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the world's longest surviving headless chicken"

Talk about running around like a headless chicken... interesting experiment, but... Eeew! SICKO!... Poor chook, to be kept alive like that, unable to look around, or enjoy its surroundings, or peck at its food like a natural chicken... Only able to come crashing towards its owner (having no eyes) when called, to have liquid dripped down its gut... *shiver* sounds like a fate worse than factory chickens. In the end, it may have 'magically' survived decapitation, but suffered a more painful (and indignifying) death by choking in a motel. The irony.

And if that had taken place a little closer to this century, you could imagine a whole industry sprouting to make the most of this 'phenomenon' : people peddling illegal VCD's, post cards and T-shirts of 'Mike the headless chicken'; people hawking chicken carcasses, claiming they were all from headless chickens that survived beheading, that were able to provide longevity and imminent immortality ('this chicken live long-long one, you eat, will also live long-long...)'; publishers of books like 'beheaded chicken soup for the soul'; inspirational speakers who talk about persevering like a beheaded chicken, and not losing your head when faced with life-threatening situations (like an axe-blade); and the mysterious e-bay seller putting up the carcass of a beheaded chicken (named Mike) for sale...

And the Guinness World Records actually recorded its lifespan. The strange records that people set... and exult in! Like another guy who blew a length of spaghetti out of his nose. Ewww... but they recorded his 'ground breaking' (or nose-blowing) record anyway. The things people will do to make an extra buck... maybe I'll try to set some incredibly silly and absurd record that no one else would have thought of, like single-handedly demolishing our supply of egg rolls and 'Kuei Bankit cookies' (which I've been doing this year, anyway). Or better yet, find a way to create some sort of fuel from all the wasted uneaten Chinese new year foodstuffs. The stock at my place would probably be enough to supply energy for several car trips. Imagine how much energy we could get from all the uneaten stocks in the neighbourhood, or Singapore? Imagine how much petrol money we could save...

But I shall be realistic, and not count my headless chickens before they hatch...