Difference between revisions 155181093 and 155181094 on dewiki

{{Original research|date=September 2010}}
[[File:Why did the chicken cross the road^ - geograph.org.uk - 146020.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Why did the chicken cross the road?]]
[[Image:chickencrosstheroad.jpg|thumb|right|220px|An 1847 version of the joke was most likely its first appearance in print]]
'''"Why did the chicken cross the road?"''' is a common [[riddle]] or joke in several languages. The answer or [[Punch line|punchline]] is: "To get to the other side". The riddle is an example of [[anti-humor]], in that the curious setup of the joke leads the listener to expect a traditional punchline, but they are instead given a simple statement of fact. However, others may interpret the apparently empty meaning of the traditional punchline as a form of humorous deception, for instance interpreting the punchline's true meaning to be that the chicken, in crossing the road which is potentially fatal to the chicken, doesn't seek to get to the other side of the road but to the "other side" of the separation between the living and the dead. Since its inception, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" has become largely iconic as an exemplary generic joke to which most people know the answer, and has been repeated and changed numerous times.

The earliest known appearance was in 1847 in ''[[The Knickerbocker]]'', a New York City monthly magazine:<ref>''The Knickerbocker, or The New York Monthly'', March 1847, p. 283.</ref>

:...There are 'quips and quillets' which seem actual conundrums, but yet are none.  Of such is this:  'Why does a chicken cross the street?[']   Are you 'out of town?'    Do you 'give it up?'  Well, then:  'Because it wants to get on the other side!'

The joke had become widespread by the 1890s, when a variant version appeared in the magazine ''[[Potter's American Monthly]]'':<ref>''Potter's American Monthly'' (1892), p. 319.</ref>
:Why should not a chicken cross the road?
:It would be a fowl proceeding.

==Variations==
There are many riddles that assume a familiarity with this well-known riddle and its answer. One class of variations enlist a creature other than the chicken to cross the road, in order to refer back to the original chicken joke. For example, a turkey or duck crosses "because it was the chicken's day off," and a dinosaur "because chickens didn't exist yet."

[[Pun]]ning variations include "Why didn't the skeleton cross the road?" to which possible answers may be "Because he had no [[internal organs|guts]]" or "Because he had no [[body]] to go with him", and "Why did the chicken cross the road halfway? To 'lay it on the line'." Some variants are both puns and references to the original joke, such as "Why did the duck cross the road?" "To prove he's no chicken."

Another class of variations, designed for written rather than oral transmission, employs [[parody]] by pretending to have notable individuals or institutions give characteristic answers to the question posed by the riddle.<ref>[http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/joke/joke-851.asp Boyscouttrail.com]</ref> As with the [[lightbulb joke]], variants on this theme are virtually endless.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite web|title=Why did the chicken cross the road? (science/philosophy)|url=http://www.allauthors.com/archives/cat__creative_nonfiction_essays.html|work=allauthors.com|author=Robert Flach}}
* {{Cite web|title=Jokes explained: Why did the chicken cross the road?|url=http://www.insaneabode.com/roboterotica/jokesexplained/whydidthechicken.html|work=insaneabode.com|author=Ryan North|authorlink=Ryan North}}
* {{Cite web|title=Why did the chicken cross the road? The story of a meme|url=http://www.roumazeilles.net/news/nw/news0056.php|work=roumazeilles.net|date=31 December 2006|author=Yves Roumazeilles}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2010}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?}}
[[Category:Joke cycles]]
[[Category:Chicken]]
[[Category:19th-century introductions]]
[[Category:Works originally published in The Knickerbocker]]

[[fr:Pourquoi le poulet a-t-il traversé la route ?]]
[[fi:Miksi kana ylitti tien?]]--edr[[A terrarium built in the Punxsutawney Memorial Library open to the public and 32]]<ref></ref>-[[Special:Contributions/99.194.219.218|99.194.219.218]] ([[User talk:99.194.219.218|talk]]) 20:14, 31 January 2012 (UTC)