Intelligent Travel

Strange Planet: Mike the Headless Chicken Festival

Here at IT, we love a good tale of chicken grit. No, we don’t mean chicken and grits, but rather the industrious and absurd tale of Mike, the headless chicken of Fruita, Colorado.

Legend goes that on Sept. 10, 1945, an almost six-month-old Wyandotte rooster was looking especially delicious to his owners, the Olsens. Lloyd Olsen swung his ax just so as to leave a “generous neck bone” in the hopes of pleasing his mother-in-law, who would be joining the family for the bird feast. But for whatever reason (perhaps the water in Fruita is extra-fortified?), the chicken shrugged off the assault and “returned to his job of being a chicken,” albeit a bit shorter and with two fewer eyes for navigating the barnyard.

Besides officially ruining dinner that evening, “Mike” persevered to live for another 18 months, growing from a paltry 2.5 pounds to a plump eight. After about a week of feeding Mike grain and water with an eyedropper, Lloyd Olsen drove him to the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to be scrutinized by some skeptical scientists, who determined that the ax blade “had missed the jugular vein and a clot had prevented Mike from bleeding to death. Although most of his head was in a jar, most of his brain stem and one ear was left on his body. Since most of a chicken's reflex actions are controlled by the brain stem, Mike was able to remain quite healthy.”

Mike went on to achieve fowl fame, appearing in sideshows from New York to Los Angeles and features in Life and Time magazines, not to mention an obligatory Guinness World Record (you can watch a video about his life here). Today, the “Headless Wonder Chicken” is celebrated with an annual festival each third week in May (that's this Friday and Saturday!). Hightail it to Fruita for all the trappings of a kitschy small-town festival you could ask for, from a car show and eating contests (of, no doubt, a few of Mike’s less-fortunate relatives) to a chicken dance contest and the 5K “Run Like a Headless Chicken” race.

Photo: A sculpture tribute to Mike on Fruita's Main Street, by Andy Orr

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Strange Planet: International Pillow Fight Day

Sea of Pillows - Great San Francisco Pillow Fight 2008

If you ever worried that your childhood is over, fear not: Saturday, March 22, is International Pillow Fight Day. From Boston to Budapest, New York to Hungary, pillow fights are taking over the planet.

Some cities have their own pillow fight tradition. San Franciscans gathered at Justin Herman Plaza near the Ferry Building on Valentine's Day for the annual Great San Francisco Pillow Fight. Photographer Romel Jacinto was there, and has the scoop on this annual San Fran event.

"It was everything I expected to be and more," says Jacinto. "Insanely crowded with several thousand in attendance, a diverse crowd from teens to those in business attire, goose feathers floating like snow, and the sound of pillows being pummeled. The pummeling was all in good fun though and it was heartening to see strangers shake hands after a well-fought exchange of pillow blows."

Check out the International Pillow Fight Day website to see if there's a pillow fight going on in your neighborhood. IT staffers are especially excited about the Washington, D.C., fight in Dupont Circle, just a couple blocks from our office.

Photo: Romel Jacinto via Flickr

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Strange Planet: Jurassic Lark

Many of us here at IT were sad to hear about the demise of Blueprint magazine, but were heartened to learn that though the magazine is gone, their blog will live on. To that end, Bluelines introduced us to a fascinating museum that is now on our must-see list for our next visit to L.A.

The Museum of Jurassic Technology is an amalgam of the strange and wonderful, and both the museum and its curator, David Wilson, are the subject of the book Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder. Mr. Wilson has gathered his wonderful objects for the past 24 years, collecting everything from X-ray bats to intricate almond-stone carvings. There's an exhibit on space dogs and a tribute to trailer homes. Magician Ricky Jay keeps his collection of decaying dice at the museum, and there's a beautiful selection of micro-mosaics created by 19th century Henry Dalton, who cobbled his tiny artworks out of butterfly wings.

Consider it a refreshing alternative to Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Learn more: you can hear a radio piece about the museum here.

Photo: One of Henry Dalton's micromosaics; via Bluelines

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Strange Planet: International Pancake Day

Billie Warden wins the Pancake Race in Liberal, Kansas, 1950, courtesy  www.pancakeday.net

You may have been aware that today was Super Tuesday. And perhaps you're already making the most of Mardi Gras. But did you know that February 5 is also International Pancake Day? So those of you disinterested in the political process or put off by Fat Tuesday's revelry have something of your own to celebrate.

This year's International Pancake Race, is held today (at 11:55 a.m.) is the 59th annual race between the women of Olney, England, and Liberal, Kansas. In both of the cities, the women wear a traditional apron and run a 415-yard S-shaped course flipping a pancake on a skillet (naturally – how else would you carry a pancake?).

According to PancakeDay.net, the race has a interesting origin:

In Olney, the Pancake Race tradition dates back more than 500 years to 1445. A woman engrossed in using up cooking fats (forbidden during Lent) was making pancakes. Hearing the church bells ring calling everyone to the shriving service, she grabbed her head scarf (required in church) and ran to the church, skillet and pancake in hand and still apron-clad. In following years, neighbors got into the act and it became a race to see who could reach the church first and collect a "Kiss of Peace" from the verger (bell-ringer.)

In 1950, a picture of the women racing appeared in an American magazine, drawing the attention of Liberal Jaycee President R.J. Leete. He contacted the Rev. Ronald Collins, Vicar of St. Peter and St. Paul's church in Olney, challenging their women to race against women of Liberal, and the race has been run ever since. The kiss is still the traditional prize in both races.

The score? Twenty-five wins for Olney and 32 for Liberal. (Apparently, the 1980 score does not count because a truck blocked the finish line.)

Can't make it to the race? Next time you're in Liberal, Kansas, stop by the free International Pancake Day Hall of Fame, open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays.

Photo: Olney sign, Andrew Betts (left); and contestants in Olney, 2007 ©Tony Margiocchi via Flickr (right)

Strange Planet: Boulders of Maori Legend

 

Between the cities of Dunedin and Oamaru on New Zealand's South Island is Moeraki, a small coastal town home to famous rock formations. According to Maori legend, the Moeraki Boulders are gourds that washed ashore (on what is now Koekohe Beach) when the Araiteuru canoe was wrecked hundreds of years ago.

But every myth has a scientific explanation: The boulders are calcite concretions, formed over 60 million years ago in seafloor sediment. The spherical boulders formed in a pearl-like process that took as long as four million years (due to crystallization of calcium and carbonates), and the soft mud that contained the boulders surfaced due to wind and rain. The boulders vary in size—up to ten feet (three meters) in diameter—and can weigh several tons each.

Photos: Jeannette Kimmel

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Strange Planet: Knickers in New Zealand

Kiwis love their fences. And even more, they love decorating fences with unwanted articles of clothing. The most interesting fence is the Cardrona Bra Fence, which has been a controversial tourist attraction in the Central Otago district on New Zealand's South Island since 1999. Until recently, hundreds of bras lined this fence near Wanaka, a resort town.

"The original reason for the bras being attached to the fence is unknown," said Londoner Michelle Adams, who took this photograph.

"News spread of the addition, which was left on the fence by the local landowners, and more bras began to appear. The fence was on a public reserve road adjacent to farm property in the Cardrona Valley area southwest of Wanaka. The local council determined the bra fence was a 'traffic hazard' and early in 2006 they removed over 200 bras. In September 2006 they removed the rest - over 1500!"

Where in the world have you seen strange object-lined fences? Let us know in the comments below.

Photo: Bra fence, Michelle Adams via Flickr

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Strange Planet: Dancing in Prague

It's a modern Leaning Tower of Pisa -- only, wait, it's supposed to do that.

The next time you're in Prague, be sure to visit The Dancing House (the Tančící dům, completed in 1996), located on the corner of Rasinovo nabrezi and Resslova street, along the River Vltava near the city center.

The contemporary building, designed by architects Vlado Milunc and Frank O. Gehry (surprised?) is home to offices and French restaurant La Perle de Prague, which offers stunning views of the River Vltava, Prague Castle, and St. Vitus's Cathedral. Fondly referred to as the "Ginger and Fred" building (aptly named for the famous dancing duo), the Dancing House is an example of deconstructivist architecture and (for the imaginative) resembles two people dancing.

To get there, take the metro's yellow line B to Karlovo Namesti station.

Photo: Wolfgang Staudt via Flickr

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Strange Planet: Nebraska

Even Intelligent Travelers get a kick out of the kooky — so as a spin off of our magazine's back page, we're offering up our own Strange Planet selections here on the blog. While researching family-friendly attractions in the U.S., intern Laura Mansho stumbled upon some quirky roadside destinations that will probably never grace the cover of Traveler, but that deserve a mention nonetheless:

Nebraska:

• Can’t make it to England? Find the next best thing at a kitschy version of Stonehenge outside the town of Alliance, where American-manufactured cars have been lovingly shoved into the dirt to create Carhenge — a site where capitalism, culture, and Cadillacs converge in one memorable family photo op.
• Over in Hebron, you can sit back and relax on the (alleged) World’s Largest Porch Swing — it’s long enough to seat 18 adults side by side at one time. However, it’s not actually attached to any kind of porch as far as I can tell.
• If you work up a thirst while you’re swaying on the swing, stick around for August’s Kool-Aid Days festival in Hastings. My favorite thing about this festival (besides the ridiculous amount of sugar water you get to imbibe) is the boat race. You can build your own ship out of Kool-Aid Jammers packets and Bursts bottles and compete for a chance to take home the grand prize — a pair of Nike Air Force Ones with the Kool-Aid Man emblazoned on the front. What else can you expect in the birthplace of Kool-Aid? At the Hastings Museum, you can learn all about its juicy history and glimpse the original Kool-Aid Man’s costume in all its wall-busting glory — Oh, Yeah!

Got more Nebraska nuggets? Send them our way. And stay tuned for more of our funky finds. And if you're on your own Strange Planet, let us know your favorite odd spots, and we'll try to feature them in future posts.

Photo: Barbara Klocko, Friends of Carhenge