Exploding chicken

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There are many references in popular culture to exploding chicken phenomena, most of them humorous and unsubstantiated. The following incidents have been reported in the news media.

The UK release of John Malkovich's directorial debut, the 2002 film The Dancer Upstairs, was stalled briefly because of concerns over the treatment of a live chicken. The British Board of Film Classification complained about footage of a chicken that had explosives strapped to one of its legs. The British Cinematograph Films Act forbids the screening of films in which animals have been "harmed in the film-making process by the cruel infliction of pain or terror" or "the cruel goading of any animal to fury". The Board allowed the distribution to proceed only after it was assured by the production company that the chicken had not been harmed in any way.^[1]

In another incident a whole raw chicken was blown up by a police bomb disposal unit using an M-80 firecracker. The controlled explosion took place on September 19, 2001 at the James Bridger Eighth Grade Center in Independence, Missouri as part of a public safety demonstration.^[2] The explosion, which sent pieces of chicken flying up to 50 feet (15 m) through the air, was intended to illustrate the destructive power of explosives in an attempt to warn students against handling illegal fireworks.

"The exploding chicken" is also the nickname of a sculpture by George Sugarman on public display in Tampa, Florida.^[3]

^[4]The cartoon Invasion of the Exploding Chickens from the Planet Frank is the story of a planet of technologically advanced chickens that must invade Earth in order to save Chickenkind. In the story, the chickens of the Planet Frank have polluted their own atmosphere with methane and nitrogen, making their bodies prone to spontaneous combustion. Led by the Evil Dr Chickenliverston, the invasion of Earth is doomed from the start with the help of two janitors, Captain Ralph and Harry S. Troochicken.

Exploding chickens are also popular in computer games. In the Catfish Escape module in Neverwinter Nights, there are deadly "Demon Chickens" which explode horrifically upon being killed, inflicting enormous mass area effect damage. In Microsoft's hit PC game Age of Mythology the player has access to the "Chicken Storm" god power, which causes ordinary-looking chickens (called "Methane Chickens") to fall from the sky to the game's combat music. After a variable time period or if it is killed, one of these chickens explodes, causing its surroundings to be showered with purple acid, damaging or killing all units nearby, including other Methane Chickens.