Do you know any computer ‘geeks’? Or perhaps you’re a geek yourself — someone who is so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a particular subject that it means more to you than almost anything.

Today, a geek is usually a positive word, used with pride, but that wasn’t always the case. At one time, it meant a stupid or worthless person. And once you read the word’s true story, you may never look at a geek in the same way again.

So read on…

Many, many years ago, a geek or ‘geck’ was a performer at a circus sideshow — these were sometimes called ‘freak shows’ as they would include people with a scary or strange appearance. Part of the geek’s act was to bite off the head of a live chicken as, er, entertainment for the crowds.

Clearly that was an extremely stupid thing to do, as well as a yucky one, and so ‘geek’ went on to mean a fool or a simpleton.

Today’s sense of the word only appeared very recently, when computers became COOL!

But be warned, no matter how much you like being geeky, leave those poor chickens alone!