 thumb|why did the chicken cross the road? thumb|right|220px|an 1847 version of the joke was its first known appearance in print "why did the chicken cross the road?" is a common riddle or joke. the answer or punch line is: "to get to the other side." the riddle is as 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. "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. ==history== the first known printing of this riddle was in 1847, in the knickerbocker, a new york city monthly magazine:the knickerbocker, or the new york monthly, march 1847, p. 283. ...there are âquips and quilletsâ which seem actual conundrums, but yet are none. of such is this: âwhy does a chicken cross the street?[â] are you âout of town?â do you âgive it up?â well, then: âbecause it wants to get on the other side!â the joke had become widespread by the 1890s, when a variant version appeared in the magazine potter's american monthly:potter's american monthly (1892), p. 319. 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 enlists a creature other than the chicken to cross the road, in order to refer back to the original riddle. for example, a turkey or duck crosses "because it was the chicken's day off," and a dinosaur "because chickens didn't exist yet." some variants are both puns and references to the original, such as "why did the duck cross the road?" "to prove he's no chicken" other variations replace side with another word often to form a pun. some examples are "why did the chicken cross the playground? to get to the other slide" or "why did the whale cross the ocean? to get to the other tide." a mathematical version asks, "why did the chicken cross the mÃ¶bius strip?" "to get to the same side." 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.why did the chicken cross the road? joke as with the lightbulb joke, variants on this theme are virtually infinite. ==references==  ==further reading== * {{cite web|title=why did the chicken cross the road? (science/philosophy) |url=http://www.allauthors.com/2006/06/111/why_
19th-century_introductions Chicken Joke_cycles Works_originally_published_in_The_Knickerbocker