08-18-2024 - On This Day in Insane History

On August 18th, 2024 in a tiny village in rural France, the townsfolk were disturbed by a most peculiar sound emanating from Madame Durand's chicken coop in the wee hours of the morning. Muffled clucking and rustling woke the entire neighborhood, sending more than a few scurrying from their beds to peek out windows and doorways trying to locate the source of the commotion.

When the sun rose, Madame Durand ventured out back and peered into her coop to discover one of her prized laying hens had overnight grown to six times its normal size! Its feathers were ruffled and eyes wild, clucking frantically as it could no longer stand under its own weight. The other hens gave it a wide berth, not recognizing their former flock mate.

Madame Durand let loose an unearthly scream that carried on the breeze, summoning neighbors. All gathered round staring in astonishment at the odd sight before them. Several learned doctors were called from the city to examine the jumbo hen but found it otherwise healthy, if not a bit disproportionate. Speculation ran rife through the village for weeks after, with tales of magic spells, radioactive fallout and genetic mishaps debated late into the night. To this day, the enormous feathered freak remains stuffed in the town museum, a thing of wonder and puzzlement for generations to come.