Welcome to Wiser Now’s weekly email blast which reflects my eclectic interests and, I hope, yours. This week, my focus is on International Respect for Chickens Month, especially today, which is Respect for Chickens Day, and looking ahead to May 20, which is Rooster Day. As I’ve tried to condense this topic, I’ve been like a chicken running around with its head cut off, which really is possible – as the story of Mike the chicken who lived 18 months without a head proved. That means the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg will have to wait until next week, because May is also Egg Month. In the meantime, let’s start pecking away.
I hope you find these offerings fun, and perhaps even useful, and welcome your feedback. (Kathy@WiserNow.com) And if you haven’t yet pressed the subscribe button so this newsletter doesn’t go to spam, please do so now.
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The Quirky Quote
If I hadn’t started painting, I would have raised chickens.
~ Grandma Moses (but it is hard to find any in her paintings)
The Quirky Facts
It is also hard to find quotes that aren’t about anything besides respecting/relishing chickens for the way they taste, although I did find a cartoon about chickens who were canvassing a neighborhood and asked one woman who answered the door, “Have you considered crossing the road to veganism?” That’s where this special month comes in.
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International Respect for Chickens Month first came to my attention in 2010 when their slogan was the amusing "Give a Cluck! Stick Up For Chickens!" which were plastered on the sides of Washington, D.C.’s buses. Then and now the month-long activities are sponsored by United Poultry Concerns (UPC), which promotes a vegan diet and compassionate treatment of chickens and has a wealth of information on their website. Most of us will not become vegans, but we can always support compassionate treatment of chickens, promote their benefits as pets (you’ll always have breakfast), and learn more about their fascinating breeds. Four of those breeds are shown here from left to right: a close-up of the unusual feather design of a Silver-Penciled Plymouth Rock; a Polish chicken (which is really a Dutch breed); Silkie Bantams, a Chinese breed that maintains their downy feathers throughout life; and a close-up of the unusual heart pattern of feathers in the Appenzeller Spitzhauben breed, aka the adorable heart hen.
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The Quirky Observations
I am fond of chickens, but I have to admit it is especially because of their humor factor. Baby chicks create smiles because they are cute, hens because they are cuddly, and rubber chickens because they are a sure sign that whatever happens next won’t be serious.
Even NASA saw the possibility of rubber chickens, when educators and astronauts from NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory used a rubber chicken named Camilla wearing her own rubber astronaut suit as an ice-breaking
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ambassador travelling with them to classrooms around the country. Students were less afraid of asking dumb questions in the presence of a rubber chicken astronaut. She’s retired now, which seems a shame.
Oh, and that expression, ”rare as hen’s teeth”? Hens really don’t have teeth (Their food is ground up in their craws) but baby chicks begin life with one tooth that is used to crack the shell and escape the egg.
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The Featured Product
It’s spring, a perfect time to check out the Wiser Now slide show, “Spring Fun,” with its trivia quizzes, word games, discussion topics, and reminiscence exercises that will get you jump-roping for joy again. You deserve the delight it offers.
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Please Spread the Word
WNW is an award-winning publication used by activity professionals, teachers, aging adults and their grandkids, and lots of people in between. Please share it, and if you represent an organization that would like a customized version or would consider becoming a sponsor, send me a note at Kathy@WiserNow.com.
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Directions for Sharing
Each week, the links to the current and seven previous Wiser Now Wednesdays are provided in the archive (“WN Wed Archive” on the far right of the menu bar). Click on the issue you want to share, and when it appears, at the top of the screen you will see “Share” with an f for Facebook and a bird for Twitter. Click on them to share to your contacts or just copy the URL at the top of your screen and send it to them in an email. Thank you!
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The Questions
- Are you fond of chickens or amused by them? Why or why not?
- Did you ever raise chickens or have one as a pet? Did it/they have names?
- Have you ever used a rubber chicken to lighten the mood?
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The Quiz - Why did the chicken cross the road?
There are many jokes about why chickens crossed the road. I would agree with the sentiment at left, except that then I couldn’t include the jokes in and alongside this quiz. There are also lots of jokes about other animals crossing roads (Why did the cow cross the road? To get to the udder side). None of these are guffaw-worthy, but give a little cluck (or “gaggalago” if you live in Iceland) and try to match the beginning to the ending.
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1. What do you call a chicken crossing the road?
2. How did the egg cross the road?
3. Why did the chicken cross the playground?
4. Why did the rubber chicken cross the road?
5. Why did the fox cross the road?
6. To get to the chicken on the other side.
7. Why did the gum cross the road?
a. Why didn’t the chicken cross the road?
Because there was a KFC on the other side.
b. It scrambled across!
c. It was stuck to the chicken’s foot.
d. Poultry in motion.
e. To get to the chicken on the other side.
f. To get to the other slide.
g. To retrieve his rubber chicken.
h. To stretch her legs.
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The Resources
Photos and cartoons are mostly googled memes or come from the resources noted above.
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Answers to the quiz
1. d
2. b
3. f
4. h
5. g
6. e
7. c
8. a
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My multiple goals are to amuse and inspire you, to share what I and people whom I admire are doing, to stimulate your curiosity and spur you to action. I hope you enjoyed this offering. You can access previous issues here. I welcome your feedback. (Kathy@WiserNow.com)
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