In September 1945, Colorado farmer Lloyd Olsen was preparing chickens for dinner on his farm in Fruita, Colorado, when something unbelievable happened.

After Olsen struck one particular rooster with an axe, the bird didn’t die.

Most of its head had been removed, but enough of the lower brain and vital blood vessels remained intact to keep the animal alive. Instead of collapsing, the chicken continued walking, balancing, and attempting to eat.

Olsen quickly realized he had an extraordinary animal on his hands and began caring for it. Because the chicken could no longer eat normally, he reportedly used a dropper and syringe to deliver liquid food and water directly into its esophagus. The bird was eventually named Mike.

News of the bizarre survivor spread rapidly, and Mike became a national celebrity. Olsen and his wife began taking him on tours across the United States, where people reportedly paid to see the unusual chicken. At the height of his fame, Mike was reportedly earning his owners hundreds of dollars per week, an enormous amount for the 1940s.

Scientists and curious observers also examined Mike, trying to understand how he could remain alive without most of his head. The explanation was that the axe had missed enough of the brainstem to preserve basic automatic functions such as breathing and circulation.

Mike survived for approximately 18 months before dying in March 1947 while the Olsens were traveling.