http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=495
LUCID DECAPITATION
For thousands of years, the forceful removal of the human head has been used as a form of capital punishment. In fact, the word "capital" in the context of punishment was coined to describe execution by decapitation, derived from the Latin word caput, which means "head."
Since the very beginnings of the practice, there has been much speculation and debate regarding the length of time that the head can remain conscious after its removal. Many argue that a beheaded person will almost instantly lose consciousness due to a massive drop in blood pressure in the brain, and/or the heavy impact of the decapitation device. But there are countless eyewitness reports in history describing a few moments of apparent awareness in the victim.
In many cases, the anecdotal evidence describes blinking eyes, wandering gaze, and moving lips on a freshly amputated head. As grotesque and troubling as these movements may be to the witnesses, such muscular spasms are not surprising under the circumstances. It is not uncommon for any separated limb to twitch briefly due to reflex nerve action. More difficult to attribute to nerve reflexes are the stories of specific facial expressions sometimes seen on the faces of the beheaded as they died. Some were said to change expressions several times in the last few moments, ranging from pain and confusion to grief and fear.
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Reminds me of :
"Like a chicken with it’s head cut off "
September 10th, 1945
Fruita, Colorado
Lloyd Olsen was sent out, on a very routine mission, to prepare the designated fryer for the pan.He positioned his ax precisely, estimating just the right tolerances, to leave a generous neck bone.
A skillful blow was executed and the chicken staggered around like most freshly terminated
poultry.Then the determined bird shook off the traumatic event and never looked back.
Mike (it is unclear when the famous rooster took on the name) returned to his job of being a chicken. He pecked for food and preened his feathers just like the rest of his barnyard buddies.
Mike the headless chicken lived on for another 18 months after that.
Scientists concluded that the jugular had not been completely (or properly) severed when Olsen delivered the usually fatal blow, and that a clot had formed to prevent the chicken from bleeding to death. They also discovered that much of his brain stem was still intact, and since the brain stem controls most of a chickens’ reflex actions Mike was able to stay in a fairly healthy state.
[SOURCE]
lolabortions 