Chicken hypnotism
Encyclopedia
A chicken
can be hypnotized, or put into a trance
, by holding its head down against the ground, and continuously drawing a line along the ground with a stick or a finger, starting at its beak and extending straight outward in front of the chicken
. If the chicken is hypnotized
in this manner, it will remain immobile for somewhere between 15 seconds and 30 minutes, continuing to stare at the line.
. Instead of a hypnotic state, the chicken's reactions are more akin to a turtle moving into its shell, or a deer freezing from a spotlight – a defensive mechanism intended to feign death, albeit poorly.
The first known written reference for this method came in 1646, in Mirabile Experimentum de Imaginatione Gallinae by Athanasius Kircher
.
Another technique of hypnosis is to hold the chicken face up with its back on the ground, and then run your finger vertically downwards from the chicken's wattles to just above its vent. The chicken's feet are exposed, which allows easy application of medication for foot mites, etc. To wake up the chicken, clap your hands or give the chicken a gentle shove.
One can also hypnotize a chicken by mimicking how it sleeps - with its head under its wing. In this method, you hold the bird firmly, placing its head under its wing, then, gently rock the chicken back and forth and set it very carefully on the ground. It should stay in the same position for about 30 seconds.
H.B. Gibson, in his book Hypnosis - its Nature and Therapeutic Uses, states that the record period for a chicken remaining in hypnosis is 3 hours 47 minutes.
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
can be hypnotized, or put into a trance
Altered state of consciousness
An altered state of consciousness , also named altered state of mind, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state. The expression was used as early as 1966 by Arnold M. Ludwig and brought into common usage from 1969 by Charles Tart: it describes induced...
, by holding its head down against the ground, and continuously drawing a line along the ground with a stick or a finger, starting at its beak and extending straight outward in front of the chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
. If the chicken is hypnotized
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
in this manner, it will remain immobile for somewhere between 15 seconds and 30 minutes, continuing to stare at the line.
History
This may not be clinical hypnosis, but instead a case of tonic immobilityTonic immobility
Apparent death, colloquially known as playing dead or playing possum, is an antipredator behavior observed in a wide range of animals in which they take on the appearance of being dead to an observer...
. Instead of a hypnotic state, the chicken's reactions are more akin to a turtle moving into its shell, or a deer freezing from a spotlight – a defensive mechanism intended to feign death, albeit poorly.
The first known written reference for this method came in 1646, in Mirabile Experimentum de Imaginatione Gallinae by Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology, and medicine...
.
Another technique of hypnosis is to hold the chicken face up with its back on the ground, and then run your finger vertically downwards from the chicken's wattles to just above its vent. The chicken's feet are exposed, which allows easy application of medication for foot mites, etc. To wake up the chicken, clap your hands or give the chicken a gentle shove.
One can also hypnotize a chicken by mimicking how it sleeps - with its head under its wing. In this method, you hold the bird firmly, placing its head under its wing, then, gently rock the chicken back and forth and set it very carefully on the ground. It should stay in the same position for about 30 seconds.
H.B. Gibson, in his book Hypnosis - its Nature and Therapeutic Uses, states that the record period for a chicken remaining in hypnosis is 3 hours 47 minutes.
Notable people who have discussed chicken hypnotism
- Helmut Kohl, German statesman. Herr Kohl's preferred method seems to be similar to that used by Werner Herzog, he used "a line drawn by chalk". (SternStern (magazine)Stern is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. It was founded in 1948 by Henri Nannen, and is currently published by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. In the first quarter of 2006, its print run was 1.019 million copies and it reached 7.84 million readers according to...
magazine, 13 September 1996) - Al GoreAl GoreAlbert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, former U.S. vice-president, Nobel Peace Prize winner and ex-presidential candidate. Mr. Gore appears to have used a non-orthodox technique, consisting of drawing imaginary circles around the chicken's head. - Steve FairnieSteve FairnieSteve Fairnie was a British musician, painter, sculptor, actor, board game designer and chicken hypnotist, best known as the frontman of the post-punk band Writz, and as one half - with his wife Bev Sage - of the 1980s pop outfit Techno Twins .-Career:Born in Fraserburgh and raised in Bristol,...
, 1980s British musician: "You have to dominate the chicken and be right above it staring into its eyes. Then it will either go under or it will attack you, so you have to be a bit careful..." (Fan-club magazine, 1983) - Adam SavageAdam SavageAdam Whitney Savage is an American industrial design and special effects designer/fabricator, actor, educator, and co-host of the Discovery Channel television series MythBusters. His model work has appeared in major films, including Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and The Matrix...
, in the Mythbusters Revealed special is briefly seen hypnotising a chicken. - In an interview with Will SmithWill SmithWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
during taping of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Smith discussed how he raised chickens as a boy and was fascinated by putting one of his chickens into hypnosis.
Cultural references
- Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich NietzscheFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, renowned 19th-century German philosopher, in his book Thus Spoke ZarathustraThus Spoke ZarathustraThus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None is a philosophical novel by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885...
used a philosophical metaphor referring to the hypnosis of the chicken. It is in Chapter 6, "The Pale Criminal", and reads as follows: "The streak of chalk bewitcheth the hen; the stroke he struck bewitched his weak reason. Madness AFTER the deed, I call this." - DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
hero The VigilanteVigilante (comics)Vigilante is the name used by several fictional characters appearing in DC Comics. The original character was one of the first DC Comics characters adapted for live-action film, beating Superman by one year.-Greg Saunders:...
hypnotizes a menacing rooster to protect himself and Stuff the Chinatown KidStuff the Chinatown KidStuff, the Chinatown Kid is a DC Comics fictional character, and sidekick to the original Vigilante. He first appeared in Action Comics #45 .-Fictional character biography:...
, in the story "The Little Men who Were There" (Action ComicsAction ComicsAction Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#69, 1944). - Werner HerzogWerner HerzogWerner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
's 1974 film The Enigma of Kaspar HauserThe Enigma of Kaspar HauserThe Enigma of Kaspar Hauser is a 1974 West German drama film written and directed by Werner Herzog about the legend of Kaspar Hauser. Its original German title is Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle, which means "Every man for himself and God against them all"...
features a scene in which a chicken is hypnotized by a line drawn by chalk. - Federico FelliniFederico FelliniFederico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
's 1984 And the Ship Sails On features a scene in which a male opera singer hypnotises a chicken in the mess hall. - Iggy PopIggy PopIggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
's "Lust for LifeLust for Life (song)"Lust for Life" is a 1977 song performed by Iggy Pop and co-written by David Bowie, featured on the album Lust for Life. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it #147 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.-Music:...
" includes the line "I've been hurting since I bought the gimmick/About something called love ... Well, that's like hypnotizing chickens." - Ernest HemingwayErnest HemingwayErnest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
briefly describes the process in The Dangerous SummerThe Dangerous SummerThe Dangerous Summer is a book written by Ernest Hemingway published in 1985, which describes the rivalry between bullfighters Luis Miguel Dominguín and his brother-in-law Antonio Ordóñez during the "dangerous summer" of 1959...
, comparing it to the hypnotic effect of a bullfighters' cape. - In E. NesbitE. NesbitEdith Nesbit was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television...
's book The House of Arden an old woman says that she has left a chicken in this state. - In Bryce CourtenayBryce CourtenayArthur Bryce Courtenay AM is a South-African-born naturalized Australian novelist and one of Australia's most commercially successful authors.-Background and early years:...
's book The Power of OneThe Power of OneThe Power of One is a novel by Bryce Courtenay, first published in 1989. Set in South Africa during the 1930s and 1940s, it tells the story of an Anglo-African boy who, through the course of the story, acquires the nickname of Peekay. The Power of One is a novel by Bryce Courtenay, first published...
the witch-doctor Inkosi Inkosikasi uses this trick, though it is viewed as magic, and not as hypnotism. - Criss AngelCriss AngelChristopher Nicholas Sarantakos , better known by the stage name Criss Angel, is an American illusionist, writer, director, musician, and actor...
in his show Criss Angel MindfreakCriss Angel MindfreakCriss Angel Mindfreak is a show distributed by A&E Network. It debuted in 2005, and centers on stunts and street magic acts by magician Criss Angel.-Career as magician:...
hypnotized a chicken as a magic trick in the episode Burning Man. - The 1993 film Even Cowgirls Get the BluesEven Cowgirls Get the Blues (film)Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a 1993 American comedy-drama-romance film based on the 1976 Tom Robbins novel of the same name. The film was directed by Gus Van Sant, Jr. and starred Uma Thurman, Lorraine Bracco, Pat Morita, Angie Dickinson, Keanu Reeves, John Hurt, Rain Phoenix, and Grace...
has some lines about chicken hypnotism and shows a character hypnotizing chickens by twirling them in the air exactly twenty times. - The United States military when trying to avoid divulging information gives reporters briefings with 20 minutes of intentionally dull PowerPoint presentations and 5 minutes left at the end for questions from anyone who is still awake. The presentations are called hypnotizing chickens.
External links
- The Straight Dope - Is it possible to hypnotize a chicken?
- How to Hypnotise a Chicken
- YouTube video of a chicken being hypnotized