A grande richiesta: la storia di Mike, il pollo senza testa

di

Qualche giorno fa, nel mio articolo sui miti non scientifici, ha avuto molto successo la parte riguardante il pollo senza testa. In molti erano scettici, altri solo curiosi, così facendo un pò di ricerche ho trovato la vera storia del pollo senza testa, ribattezzato dagli ammiratori Mike. Si tratta di una storia vera, tant’è che in America, ogni anno, si celebra un weekend per ricordarlo. Quest’anno sarà il 16 e 17 di Maggio. E 50 anni fa gli fu dedicato anche un film.

Mike diventa una stella il 10 Settembre 1945, all’età di 5 mesi e mezzo. Si trovava tranquillamente nella sua stia, quando il suo allevatore, Lloyd Olsen, della città di Fruita, Colorado, decise di farlo alla brace. Prese il povero volatile e lo poggiò su un tagliere, dove lo colpì con un netto colpo di ascia appena sopra il collo. Lloyd si pentì subito di ciò che aveva fatto, e pieno di rimorso lasciò perdere l’animale e se ne tornò in casa, senza mai voltarsi indietro.


Quello che Lloyd non sapeva fu che, dopo poco, Mike si rialzò e tornò a comportarsi da pollo, tentando di beccare il mangime, anche senza il becco. Quando il mattino dopo Lloyd tornò nella stia, trovò Mike che dormiva con la “testa”, o ciò che rimaneva di essa, sotto l’ala. A quel punto l’allevatore capì che, nutrendolo con un pò d’acqua attraverso un contagocce, il pollo continuava a vivere, e che non sarebbe stato un pollo come tutti gli altri. La settimana dopo lo portò all’Università di Salt Lake City dove gli studiosi, dopo qualche perplessità, capirono che il colpo dell’ascia aveva mancato la giugulare e un grumo di sangue aveva funzionato da tappo, facendo in modo che il sangue non si disperdesse dalla ferita e lasciasse Mike ancora in vita. Le funzioni vitali erano sopravvissute grazie ad un pezzo di cervello rimasto ancora attaccato al collo, e ad un orecchio, che permettevano di controllare i riflessi del pollo, facendogli credere di essere ancora vivo.

Nei 18 mesi successivi Mike diventò “The headless wonder chicken“, ovvero il prodigioso pollo senza testa, un fenomeno da baraccone trasportato in giro per il Paese. E la cosa eccezionale fu che, in questo lasso di tempo in cui visse menomato, fu in grado anche di ingrassare, da due libbre e mezza a 8 libbre. Le persone che lo vedevano lo giudicavano “un pollo grasso che non sa di non avere la testa”, perchè i suoi movimenti erano quelli che ci si aspetta da tutti i polli, compreso lo spostare della testa, che avveniva con leggeri movimenti del collo, senza però un vero fine. Altri addirittura lo consideravano felice della sua condizione. E come poteva non esserlo, dato che era diventato una star. Il suo valore in quei mesi fu stimato in oltre 10 mila dollari (ricordiamoci che si era negli anni ’40), e le persone che lo andavano a vedere, pagavano 25 cent a persona. La sua storia finì anche sul Time Magazine e su Life, senza contare, ovviamente, il Guinness dei Primati.

Mike terminò la sua vita in uno dei tanti viaggi a cui lo sottoponeva il suo allevatore, in Arizona. Mentre alloggiavano in un motel, Mike si “strozzò” con il cibo, Lloyd non riuscì a trovare in tempo il contagocce usato per ripulirgli l’esofago, e così il pollo passò a miglior vita. Ora lo spirito di Mike è celebrato ogni anno il terzo weekend del mese di Maggio, in cui non si ricorda il suo handicap, ma il suo attaccamento alla vita.

Related Posts:

48 commenti su “A grande richiesta: la storia di Mike, il pollo senza testa”

  4. I just want to mention I am just beginner to blogs and truly loved you’re website. Probably I’m going to bookmark your site . You really come with terrific article content. Regards for sharing with us your website page.

    Rispondi

  6. Wow! This could be one particular of the most helpful blogs We have ever arrive across on this subject. Basically Excellent. I’m also an expert in this topic so I can understand your hard work.

    Rispondi

  14. You are my intake , I own few blogs and sometimes run out from to post .I conceive this web site has got some rattling wonderful information for everyone. “A sense of share is not a bad moral compass.” by Colin.

    Rispondi

  15. certainly like your web-site but you need to test the spelling on several of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I in finding it very troublesome to tell the truth on the other hand I’ll surely come again again.

    Rispondi

  16. I precisely desired to thank you so much once again. I am not sure the things I could possibly have gone through in the absence of those recommendations shared by you on that problem. This was a very troublesome issue in my view, nevertheless seeing this specialized tactic you processed that forced me to cry over contentment. Now i am happier for the support and thus wish you realize what an amazing job you have been putting in training other individuals via a blog. I’m certain you’ve never come across any of us.

    Rispondi

  17. IMSC SEO is a Singapore SEO Company. They provide comprehensive Singapore SEO services to help SG businesses to gain traffic from search engine. Their SEO agency has many years of experiences working with overseas companies on more competitive grounds. They are the best seo company in Singapore you can find. Their SEO expert and consultant understand exactly what search engine optimization your company need to gain search engine traffic.

    http://www.shortmyurls.com/imsc-home-comment-general

    Rispondi

  21. What your declaring is absolutely true. I know that everyone need to say the similar factor, but I just feel that you set it in a way that everybody can comprehend. I also love the images you place in right here. They suit so well with what youre attempting to say. Im sure youll attain so quite a few folks with what youve received to say.

    http://www.repairloader.net/

    Rispondi

  25. This is getting a bit more subjective, but I much prefer the Zune Marketplace. The interface is colorful, has more flair, and some cool features like ‘Mixview’ that let you quickly see related albums, songs, or other users related to what you’re listening to. Clicking on one of those will center on that item, and another set of “neighbors” will come into view, allowing you to navigate around exploring by similar artists, songs, or users. Speaking of users, the Zune “Social” is also great fun, letting you find others with shared tastes and becoming friends with them. You then can listen to a playlist created based on an amalgamation of what all your friends are listening to, which is also enjoyable. Those concerned with privacy will be relieved to know you can prevent the public from seeing your personal listening habits if you so choose.

    Rispondi

  28. Between me and my husband we’ve owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers, iPods (classic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I’ve settled down to one line of players. Why? Because I was happy to discover how well-designed and fun to use the underappreciated (and widely mocked) Zunes are.

    Rispondi

  29. IMSC SEO is a Singapore SEO Company. They provide comprehensive Singapore SEO services to help SG businesses to gain traffic from search engine. Their SEO agency has many years of experiences working with overseas companies on more competitive grounds. They are the best seo company in Singapore you can find. Their SEO expert and consultant understand exactly what search engine optimization your company need to gain search engine traffic.

    http://www.shortmyurls.com/imsc-home-comment-general

    Rispondi

  31. IMSC SEO is a Singapore SEO Company. They provide comprehensive Singapore SEO services to help SG businesses to gain traffic from search engine. Their SEO agency has many years of experiences working with overseas companies on more competitive grounds. They are the best seo company in Singapore you can find. Their SEO expert and consultant understand exactly what search engine optimization your company need to gain search engine traffic.

    http://www.shortmyurls.com/imsc-services-comment-exact

    Rispondi

  34. Its like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but other than that, this is excellent blog. An excellent read. I’ll certainly be back.

    Rispondi

  40. I simply hope to tell you that I am new to online blogging and incredibly admired your work. Probably I am likely to store your blog post . You truly have impressive article materials. Get Pleasure From it for swapping with us all of your domain article

    http://www.seohero01.info

    Rispondi

  42. Hi there, I discovered your site by the use of Google whilst searching for a related subject, your website came up, it seems good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.

    Rispondi

  43. I¡¦m no longer positive the place you’re getting your information, but good topic. I needs to spend some time studying much more or working out more. Thank you for fantastic information I was searching for this info for my mission.

    Rispondi

  46. I just have to notify you that I am new to putting up a blog and very much valued your write-up. Probably I am going to remember your blog post . You absolutely have wonderful article information. Delight In it for expressing with us your very own domain article

    http://www.vancouverseo3.info

    Rispondi

Lascia un commento

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.