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01-Oct-1982
Dear Cecil:
During a recent movie at a local theater, there was a short feature in which this guy laid a chicken on its stomach, moved his finger in a straight line away from the chicken's beak, and thereby hypnotized the poor critter. Can this really be done? How does it work? Have you ever hypnotized a chicken? --Randy K., Lisle, Illinois
Cecil replies:
Up till now I've pretty much had my hands full contending with
turkeys, Randy my son, but should chickens become equally worrisome
you may be sure I will give hypnosis a shot. Remarkably enough, the
technique described does work.
In the old days it was thought you had to draw a line in front of
the chicken with chalk, but modern masters of the art have learned
you can dispense with the props. The trick seems to require
physically restraining the chicken and administering some strong
stimulus, e.g., drawing lines. This induces total sensory overload
in the chicken's two-volt brain, putting him/her/it under for
anywhere from 15 seconds to 30 minutes.
Alternatively, I understand, you can pop the chicken's cork with a
beady-eyed stare. If it's pigeons you're after, a small piece of
white putty on the end of the beak is recommended. Allegedly it is
also possible to put the nod on a vicious horse by grabbing its
nose, pulling its head down, and blowing "strongly and steadily
into its ear for about five minutes," it says here. You first,
buddy.
It's doubtful whether putting an animal into an apparent trance
state can legitimately be regarded as hypnosis, in the sense that
humans are hypnotized. Some regard it simply as a sort of freeze
reaction, while others claim it's an attempt to feign death in
hopes that the hypnotizer will lose interest and scoot.
--CECIL ADAMS
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