Though it may sound like an urban legend, there have been many instances of tornadoes plucking the feathers right off of chickens. "While it is not the mission of the National Severe Storms Forecast Center to record tornadoes which deplumed fowls," the organization said in a response to a 1978 article in American Heritage magazine, "enough events of this phenomenon have been documented over the past one hundred and forty years to warrant acceptance." The real question isn't whether this has ever happened but how, and there are a number of competing theories. Some think it's simply the strength of the wind, while others (including Kurt Vonnegut's brother Bernard, a meteorologist) believe the birds become so anxious during the storms that they spontaneously molt — an evolutionary adaptation meant to ensure predators make off with only a mouthful of feathers, rather than the entire chicken, when attacking. | 
