Rubber chicken: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Prop used in stand-up comedy}}

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{{Refimprove |date = August 2011}}

[[Image:Chickenpants.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Prop_comedy|prop comic]] holding a rubber chicken in sweatpants (as in the [[simile]] "looser than a rubber chicken in sweatpants").]]

A '''rubber chicken''' is a popular [[sight gag]] and [[slapstick]] comedy prop, sometimes used by [[Prop_comedy|comics]] to hit people with. They are also sometimes used by [[juggling|jugglers]] in place of clubs. The origins of the rubber chicken are obscure.

[[File:Chevrolet Truck with rubber chicken (2909215913).jpg|thumb|Rubber chicken in the back of a truck]]

One account attributes its creation to [[Joseph Grimaldi]], the legendary white-faced clown of the early 1800s. At that time, gluttony was fashionable and considered a sign of affluence, and Grimaldi would perform with his pockets full of fake food in order to make fun of the upper classes{{ref|Grim_abc}}.

A '''rubber chicken''' is a [[theatrical property|prop]] used in [[comedy]]. The phrase is also used as a description for food served at speeches, conventions, and other large meetings, and as a metaphor for speechmaking.{{cn|date=April 2011}}

==Description==

Another account, which is printed on the tag of rubber chickens manufactured by [[Archie McPhee]], claims that the use of the rubber chicken originated during the [[French Revolution]] with soldiers hanging the chicken from their [[musket|muskets]] for luck.

[[File:Auguste clown holding a rubber chicken.jpg|thumb|A rubber chicken is sometimes used as a prop in clown acts]]

A [[rubber]] chicken is an imitation plucked fowl made in a [[latex]] injection mold. Modern day rubber chickens usually have some sort of squeaking device similar to one found in a [[rubber duck]], allowing the chicken to squeak or scream when squeezed.

== Origins ==

== Rubber chickens in the news ==

The origin of the rubber chicken is obscure, but it is possibly based on the use of inflated [[pig bladder]]s attached to sticks and used as props or mock weapons by [[jester]]s in the days before the development of [[plastic]] and latex. Chicken corpses were readily available; therefore jesters could employ them as variations of [[Slapstick#Origins|slapsticks]].<ref>

{{Cite web

| title= Farm Pop: Why the Rubber Chicken?

| publisher= Modern Farmer

| date= 2013-12-04

| url= https://modernfarmer.com/2013/12/farm-pop-rubber-chicken/

| access-date=2016-07-15

| language= en-US

}}

</ref>

One account attributes the first use of a prop chicken to John Holmberg, the Swedish [[blackface]] clown of the early 1900s.{{cn|date=October 2021}} Similarly, British performer [[Joseph Grimaldi]] would perform with his pockets full of fake food to mock the gluttony reportedly prevalent among the upper classes at the time.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20031003040115/http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/WolfFiles/wolffiles109.html Buck Wolf], ''Flight of the Floppy Fowl'', ABCNews.com, 2000.</ref> However, this predates the [[Sulfur vulcanization#Modern developments|vulcanization of rubber]].

*At the staging of Ionesco's <i>The Killing Game</i>, critic Gerhard Stadelmaier was sworn at and had a rubber chicken thrown at him by actor Thomas Lawinky, who later offered his resignation{{ref|BBC_4743570}}.

A claim that the symbol originated during the [[French Revolution]], with soldiers hanging a chicken from their [[musket]]s for luck, is printed on the tag of rubber chickens manufactured by [[Archie McPhee]].{{citation required|date=February 2018}}

*During the fifth end break (curling's version of halftime and/or a seventh inning stretch) at the 2006 Winter Olympics in [[Turin]], [[Italy]], a man ran across the ice wearing nothing but an online gambling ad and a strategically placed rubber chicken. Chief referee Keith Wendorf tackled the man, and an umpire covered him with a coat before he was led out of the arena by the Italian polizia. The rubber chicken was not hurt. {{ref|NBC_5131225}}

==Food and speechmaking==

==See also==

The term "rubber chicken" is used disparagingly to describe the food served at political or corporate events, weddings, and other gatherings where there are a large number of guests who require serving in a short timeframe. Often, pre-cooked chicken is held at serving temperature for some time and then dressed with a sauce as it is served. Consequently, the meat may be tough or "rubbery". Someone who "travels the 'rubber chicken circuit'" is said to do so by attending or making speeches at many such gatherings, often as part of [[political campaigning]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rZk6DwAAQBAJ&q=rubber+chicken+circuit&pg=PA228|title=The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang|last=Barrett|first=Grant|date=2006-06-08|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-530447-3|language=en}}</ref>

*[[Rubber chicken dinner]]

== References ==

<references /><!-- ==External links== -->

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[[Category:ComedyChickens]]

#{{Note|Grim_abc}}[http://web.archive.org/web/20031003040115/http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/us/WolfFiles/wolffiles109.html Buck Wolf], ''Flight of the Floppy Fowl'', ABCNews.com, 2000.

[[Category:Rubber toys]]

#{{Note|BBC_4743570}}[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4743570.stm BBC News], ''Fake bird' row hits German play'', February 23, 2006.

[[Category:Toy animals]]

#{{Note|NBC_5131225}}[http://www.nbcolympics.com/torinotracker/5131225/detail.html Jon Miller], ''Is it cold in here, or is it just me?'', NBCOlympics.com, February 24, 2006.

[[Category:Prop design]]

[[Category:Novelty items]]

<!-- ==External links== -->

[[Category:Comedy]]