posted on August 24, 2001 10:17:19 PM new
I will start off with a chicken story:
WHY HENS SCRATCH IN THE DIRT
Long, long, ago the hen and the hawk were the best of friends. One day the hawk gathered up his courage and asked the hen to marry him. The hen accepted his proposal & the hawk presented her with a small diamond ring.
The next day a rooster happened to see the ring and asked the hen where she got it. "The hawk asked me to marry him," she replied. "Ha!" snorted the rooster. "And he gave you that? If he really loved you the hawk would have given you a much better ring!"
The rooster asked the hen to marry him instead, pestering her over & over, until finally the hen agreed. "But what can I tell the hawk?" she asked, taking off the hawk's ring & throwing it away. The rooster told her to tell the hawk that she had lost his ring.
Unbeknownst to the rooster and the hen, a sparrow had overheard them, and she flew to the hawk to tell him of the hen's unfaithfulness. The next day, the hawk went to meet the hen.
"Why, what has happened to the ring I gave you?" the hawk asked. "Oh," said the hen, "I was running after a beetle & it fell off and I lost it." Then the hawk confronted the hen with her lie.
"Oh, faithless hen! I truly loved you & you betrayed me with the rooster. It is true that the ring I gave you was small, but it was all I could afford & given to you with all my heart behind it!" The hen cowered as the hawk glared at her. "I never want to see you again--but I demand that you return my ring! You had best find it--and until you do, whenever I am hungry I will pay a visit & help myself to a chick!"
And so it is that, to this very day, you will see hens scratching busily in the dirt trying to find the lost ring--and hawks continue to eat chickens.
posted on August 25, 2001 12:44:54 AM new
I don't know if this is true or an urban legend, I heard this years ago.
Feathers, the publication of the California Poultry Industry Federation, recently revealed the plucky way the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration tests the strength of windshields on airplanes. It seems the FAA uses a special gun to launch dead chickens at the planes' windshields. The chickens are sent flying at approximately the same speed as the planes fly. The theory is that if the windshield doesn't crack from the carcass impact, it will survive a collision with a bird during flight.
The British heard about this chicken gun and thought it would be just ducky to use in testing the windshield of a high-speed locomotive they were developing. The Brits borrowed the gun, loaded it with chicken and fired. The bird-bullet shattered the windshield, went through the engineer's chair, broke an instrument panel and embedded itself in the back wall of the engine cab. The British were stunned and asked the FAA to check over their test to see if they'd done it correctly.
The FAA reviewed the test and came back with one recommendation: "Use a thawed chicken."
There are several sites on the Net dating from about 1998 that tell the story of supposed British use of the gun. Some say the FAA & others say NASA gave the "helpful" tip to the Brits. I believe that this is an urban legend.
posted on August 25, 2001 01:14:43 AM new
During the Middle Ages, the cock was an important Christian symbol of
resurrection and vigilance. A rooster represented God, goodness, and lightness.
Cocks' places were earned at the top of buildings, domes, and church steeples.
They crowed at the birth and death of Christ, and they herald the dawn, "which
brings light to the sins of the night and rouses men to the worship of God."
Witches Sabbats were dispersed, and enchantments were dissolved, by the crow
of a rooster. The rites of Satan ended because the Holy Office of the Church had
begun. the 4th-century Christian Latin poet Prudentius sang, "They say that the
night-wandering demons, who rejoice in dunnest shades, at the crowing of the
cock tremble and scatter in sore affright." In the time of Saint Benedict, Lauds
and Matins were recited at dawn and became known as Gallicinium, or
Cock-crow.
According to Nicholas Remy, a 16th-century witch prosecutor and demonologist,
cocks were despised by all sorcerers and witches. However, roosters did not
keep witches away. Cocks were a frequent sacrifice victim by witches because
killing one was tantamount to spitting in the eye of God.
posted on August 25, 2001 03:06:59 AM new
I worked for a poultry company for 18 years. The last 4 years I was a secretary at one of the hatcheries. Can you imagine seeing 150,000 chicks 4 days a week. If you only knew. I had to get out of there. Thank goodness for Ebay and AuctionWatch.
posted on August 25, 2001 06:59:20 AM new
Plucky topic....headless chickens do run around and the air escaping from their bodies makes a clucking sound...
posted on August 25, 2001 07:49:33 AM new
His name was Mike, and that's him above. He was a great pet and your right, the entire town adopted him as a mascot.
One good thing about Mike--he wasn't a picky eater.
posted on August 25, 2001 07:54:42 AM new
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page and you tooooo can order your own Mike The Headless Chicken T-shirt.
posted on August 25, 2001 09:17:50 AM newmybiddness: Thanks! I'd never heard about Mike. Unfortunately, though, the links they give for the t-shirt are dead.
posted on August 25, 2001 09:52:16 AM new
Yep, sure can. Here are more thoughts on why the chicken crossed the road--as pondered by British football managers:
posted on August 25, 2001 10:20:07 AM newOh chicken parm, so pure and white, how I doeth crave your juices tonight. Were I trapped alone far from sight, Or stolen away at night- I would myself want but one delight: Chicken Parm, bite upon bite.
posted on August 25, 2001 10:23:41 AM new
Hey mybiddness!
Thanks! I caught my error just moments before. Reading too fast I think and overly excited about the Return of The Chicken!
You're a good egg Bunnicula.
We sure can get a lot of mileage out of a chicken thread, can't we?
