When was the joke why did the chicken cross the road made?

Answer 1

In ancient times, when farmers were first domesticating animals, they chose large areas of grasslands that they closed in with tall wooden fences, so the wild chickens couldn't fly over the top and would stay a reasonably short distance from the farmer's house. The farmer would put grain and worms in these areas to attract the chickens, while, over time, he would gradually decreasethe size and height of the fenced in area. Finally, after the chickens were used to being fenced in, they never tried to escape because there was always food for them within the fenced in area. One day, the farmer was late bringing the chickens their food, so one of the smarter chickens found out that he could actually fly over the shorter fence, so he did, to look for food on the neighboring farmer's land. When the farmer finally did come with the food, he noticed that one of his chickens had gone, so he went to his neighbor's gate to yell at his neighbor: "Why did my chicken cross the road over to your place?" and his neighbor yelled back: "To get to the other side where I keep food out for my chickens!". Well, the farmers' wife thought this was a silly argument, and when she told her friends about it, she shortened it to the familiar version we hear way too often: "Why did the chicken cross the road?" "To get to the other side!"***(ACTUALLY, I MADE THIS STORY UP, BUT IT SOUNDED AUTHENTIC, DIDN'T IT!!!) ;-} Admit it; you believed it!!!

Answer 2

The exact origin of the riddle is obscure. Its first known appearance in print occurred in 1847 in The Knickerbocker, a New York monthly magazine:

An 1847 version of the joke was possibly its first appearance in print

...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 may already have become widespread by the 1890s, when a variant version appeared in the magazine Potter's American Monthly:

Why should not a chicken cross the road? It would be a fowl proceeding. From:wikipedia

Answer 3

Jokes are valued for the exciting little sense of shock, the new twist to your viewpoint, that comes with the answer. That is what makes us laugh. Or groan!

A person asks you, 'Why did the chicken cross the road?' Of course you assume it is a joke.

You try to think of a clever, complicated answer.

Then the answer is given, "To get to the other side."

Well, duh. Anyone should know that.

You have been tricked into discarding the obvious answer and pursuing complex and convoluted solutions because you assumed that was what was expected.

This joke is especially valued in our contemporary oral heritage because it teaches a lesson that applies to business, politics, and all human endeavors: "Keep it simple. Don't assume a complicated solution is needed for every problem. The obvious one may work just fine."

The joke is also a joke because it can connect with practically anything. For example, you can say a person or shop on the other side and what man is doing or what shop is selling. It could change the answer but some are just weird. In this case, the joke is re-usable and simple to change.

Answer 4

you know how people always say how did the chicken cross the road weel that's because in around 1930s in Texas it was market day and a man was selling chickens he had just sold one and was reaching down to get the chicken when i t all of a sudden got scared and ran of acroos the road and the man who had just bought the chicken said hey why did the chicken cross the road so for a joke the man who was selling the chickens said he needed the toilet and that i where the joke why did the chicken cross the road came from

^^LOL THATS COMPLETELY WRONG. The real origination of the joke is. In the medieval times when they didnt have cars or plastic forks, a man traveled back from the future which to us is now the future. Went to the bar, got very very very drunk and then told the joke really loud. Everyone laughed like drunk idiots and then the time traveler died from alchohol poisoning. And thats why dolphins no longer have legs. And yes, I know wat Im talking about.

-Love, Jason

Answer 5

Explaining a joke kind of takes a lot of the funny out of it, but here goes.

The standard form of the joke is "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side."

The humor comes from the fact that, if it weren't for the fact that nearly everyone who speaks English has heard it, the setup sounds like a riddle, which means a person hearing it for the first time would probably expect that it has some kind of complicated answer, when, in fact, it's the very simple and obvious explanation of "to get to the other side."

However, since everyone has heard the standard version, sometimes people will try (with varying levels of success) to reintroduce the humor by changing the answer.... again, this relies on denial of expectations. If you expect the answer will be "to get to the other side" and it turns out to be something else, then maybe you'll find it funny again. For this to work, it has to be set up so that you have some clue it might be a different answer, or it's just a non-sequitur, which may or may not be funny depending on the circumstances.

Answer 6

In 1847, found in "The Knickerbocker" magazine.

Answer 7

the" why did the chicken cross the road" joke first origanated in the knickerboker, a 1847 newyork news paper. I dont know what the point is

Answer 8

heard it when I was much younger, about five years of age, so guess it is over 6 years old now as am 11 now

Answer 9

Mr Henderson Cartright