In the 1940's Lloyd Olsen was just a poor farmer trying his best to scratch a living out of dirt in Colorado, but all that changed when he met Mike the magic chicken. The story begins when Lloyd found out his mother-in-law was coming for a visit. Knowing that the woman was an avid lover of chicken neck, as all classy women are, Lloyd went out to kill a chicken for the pot, aiming the axe to make sure to save as much neck as possible. However, after the head fell to the ground, Lloyd was left with a bit of a surprise. The chicken, despite its decapitation, was still alive. Not only was it still alive, but it was still walking around and doing its pathetic best to peck and preen. Lloyd, seeing that this chicken was something special and being a man who knew an opportunity when he saw one, promptly took it into town and started betting people beers that he had a living headless chicken.
The chicken, soon after named Mike for some reason, was possibly the most lucky, or unlucky depending on how you look at it, chicken in the world. The axe blade had only cut away half of Mike’s brain, which proved to be the half chickens really don't apparently need. Lloyd cared for his new best friend by shoving milk and small pieces of corn down Mike's esophagus, and clearing away mucus with a syringe. Mike didn't seem to mind the arrangement, probably because he was a lobotomized fucking chicken. Lloyd took Mike to the nearest university where he was poked and prodded until the assorted professors all agreed that Mike was indeed alive. The professors then tried to replicate Mike's creation, purely in the interest of science, but only ended up with a bunch of dead chickens. It was at this time that Lloyd met a bit of a shyster named Hope Wade who convinced him that there were better ways to use Mike besides scamming local drunks for free beer.
So how does a man make money off a headless chicken in the 1940's? Why by joining the side show circuit of course. TV hadn't been invented yet and returning veterans from the most horrible war in history needed something to distract them from their PTSD. Lloyd and Mike crisscrossed the country, showing off Mike for a quarter a head (around $2.75 in today's cash). Mike became a nationwide celebrity, appearing in major magazines and ruffling feathers with the rich and famous. Lloyd, being a more down to earth soul, used the money to buy a hay baler, two tractors, and a pickup truck. Fan mail from across the country came in, including one that called Lloyd a Nazi for some reason. People in the 1940's took their chickens very seriously.
After 18 months of touring, the gravy train that was Mike the magic chicken unfortunately came to an end. While staying at a seedy motel, as all sideshow acts are required to do, Mike choked on a piece of corn and died. Lloyd, horrified by his loss, told everyone he had sold Mike and then tossed the out the body on the side of the road to be devoured by coyotes. With Mike gone, Lloyd went back to his simple life of being a farmer, only occasionally bothered by people bringing chickens, six packs of beer, and a hope that there might be a chance that Lloyd could repeat the miracle that was Mike.
Image: https://www.life.com/animals/life-with-mike-the-headless-chicken-photos-of-a-famously-tough-fowl/