History Main / ChickenJoke

The joke is seen as an example of AntiHumor, in which the listener might expect a traditional punchline, but instead gets a simple statement of fact. The joke appeared in the 1847 edition of the magazine ''The Knickerbocker'': "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 music critic Gary Giddins in the Ken Burns documentary ''Jazz'' states that the joke was spread through the United States by MinstrelShows (a form of entertainment consisting of skits, musical performances, and variety acts depicting people of African descent, usually caricatured as buffoonish, lazy, and happy-go-lucky) beginning in the 1840s as one of the first national jokes.

Either way, of course, these days everyone and their grandmother has [[IfItWasFunnyTheFirstTime heard it a million times]] ever since they were far too young to grasp the concept of humor, rendering the joke itself a case of OnceOriginalNowOverdone.

Either way, of course, these days everyone and their grandmother has [[IfItWasFunnyTheFirstTime heard it a million times]] ever since they were far too young to grasp the concept of humor, rendering the joke itself a case of SeinfeldIsUnfunny.

* In ''Film/TheGoodLie'', three Sudanese refugees were telling each other the ChickenJoke and they all find it very hilarious. Makes sense, since they're hearing it for the first time.

* The opening titles for ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' show a dead chicken, lying in the middle of the road having been run over, presumably while trying to cross to he other side.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', Brainy tells the joke "Why did the chicken cross the road? Because the others ''egged'' him on!".

* '''Wiki/SCPFoundation''' has a rather [[BlackComedy dark version of this]] with a tape that changes the perception of people who see it: after seeing a particular scene, the watcher will percieve every character, fictional or not, watched on TV or in a movie, hear on radio, or read about, to choke and die. This includes incredibly short jokes as well.
-->'''Subject''': (Reading a joke written in a candy wrapper) Why did the chicken cross the road? Who cares, halfway across the road, it fell over and choked and died. Haha.

The joke is seen as an example of AntiHumor, in which the listener might expect a traditional punchline, but instead gets a simple statement of fact. The joke appeared in the 1847 edition of the magazine Knickerbocker: "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 music critic Gary Giddins in the Ken Burns documentary ''Jazz'' states that the joke was spread through the United States by MinstrelShows (a form of entertainment consisting of skits, musical performances, and variety acts depicting people of African descent, usually caricatured as buffoonish, lazy, and happy-go-lucky) beginning in the 1840s as one of the first national jokes.

A common variant is to simply substitute the chicken with another creature. (''Why did the duck cross the road? It was the chicken's day off.'') Or in an alien culture, someone might ask "[[CallARabbitASmeerp why did the Smeerp cross the road]]?"

See also: LightBulbJoke and KnockKnockJoke. Subtrope of CluckingFunny.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Log Date 7-15-2", Peridot tries to [[FishOutOfWater acclimate to life on Earth]] by practicing telling jokes, including the old "Why did the chicken cross the road?" joke. She not only [[CannotTellAJoke stumbles over the punchline]], but after awkwardly laughing at herself she wonders what a chicken is. She later asks Amethyst to shapeshift into a chicken, then [[CluckingFunny laughs and says that she gets the joke now]].

Where the joke originally came from is not entirely certain. Most folklorists believe it was originally an example of AntiHumor, with the setup leading the listener to expect a traditional {{punchline}} but the answer being a [[MathematiciansAnswer mundane factual explanation]]. Robin Bernstein, in his 2011 book ''Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights'', further pinpointed its origin to MinstrelShows, where it and other anti-jokes (e.g. "Why does a fireman wear red suspenders?" "To keep his pants up!") were used as part of the overarching theme surrounding black people trying and failing to assimilate into white society. Either way, it makes a very bad example of a joke to use as an introduction to humor (as it is often used in media), since it requires the listener to already be familiar with the concept of a joke in order to understand the "punchline" at all.

* During LetsPlay/TommyInnit's [[https://youtu.be/a3ejYq70wps Minecraft talent show]], [=CG5=] ended up performing a short song based on the joke that ultimately segued into a cover of Music/BrunoMars' "That's What I Like", causing Tommy (who has an OldShame attached to the song) to try and chase him off the stage.

* The [[OlderThanRadio earliest printed citation]] discovered so far is from an 1847 edition of ''The Knickerbocker'', a New York City monthly magazine, where it is presented as follows:
-->"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!'"

One of the oldest StockJokes ever told, this joke involves the classic setup: "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Sometimes, this may also be accompanied by the classic punchline: "To get to the other side", though the punchline may vary sometimes. There are also times where an actual chicken may be involved.

One of the oldest StockJokes ever told, this is a joke that involves the classic setup as this: "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Sometimes, this may also be accompanied by the classic punchline "To get to the other side", though the punchline may vary sometimes. There are also times where an actual chicken may be involved.

A common variant is to simply substitute the chicken with another creature. (''Why did the duck cross the road? It was the chicken's day off.'') Or in an alien culture, someone might ask "[[CallARabbitASmeerp why the Smeerp crossed the road]]?"

->''"Why *did* you cross the road?"''

* The Season 1 finale of ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' ended with a ''Series/YouCantDoThatOnTelevision'' parody that resulted in the titular Robot Chicken and the Mad Scientist [[TalkingWithSigns using signs]] to tell the joke.

* In the ''Webcomic/{{Xkcd}}'' strip [[https://xkcd.com/1640/ Super Bowl Context]], the AltText shows how the character who overexplains everything might tell the Chicken Joke:

* Michael Stevens of ''WebVideo/{{VSauce}}'' did a video about the joke, appropriately called "Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?".

* The "Honesty" episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresFromTheBookOfVirtues'' has Aristotle telling the joke "Why did the bobcat cross the road? To bother somebody ''else'' for a change!".

A common variant is to simply substitute the chicken with another creature. (''Why did the duck cross the road? It was the chicken's day off.'') Or in an alien culture, someone might ask [[CallARabbitASmeerp why the Smeerp crossed the road]].