Over the course of a normal day at summer camp, I talk about a lot of things - Pokemon, The Jonas Brothers, and overweight deaf guys, to name a few - and a topic that came up today was the rubber chicken.  The rubber chicken is an iconic symbol of classic comedy, the ultimate prop gag.  But where did it come from?  A brief history of this majestic creature, plus more, after the jump.

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The rubber chicken has a mysterious back story, complete with multiple possible origins.  One possible attribution is to the French Revolution.  French rebel fighters would attach rubber chickens to the ends of their guns for luck.  Some would think that having a chicken attached to the end of your gun would hinder accuracy.  But they're French, so all logic is thrown out the window.  They eat snails and put mayonnaise on their fries for God's sake.  Another possibility is more closely rooted in comedy.  Early 19th century mime Joseph Grimaldi, the world's first modern clown, used rubber food in his act as a way of mocking the gluttonous upper classes.  I may not be a member of any upper class, but this offends me as a gluttonous person. Even the fact that his son, who drank himself to death at age 30, would have definitely read Tako Tuesdays had he been born in the 1980s can't make me feel good about Joseph mocking me for eating Taco Bell twice in one day.

More Things That Serve No Earthly Purpose, Yet Continue to Be Around

• mosquitos
• the WNBA
• Kardashians
• house cats
• Magic: The Gathering
• Snuggie for Dogs
  
• bras

Keg Stickers next week, add your useless crap to the comments.  Matt Daddy comments count as useless crap.