On chickens and roads

[Woodzyowl]

I've come here today to pose a question that I believe to be the single most important philosophical query in history. A question so difficult that most simply laugh when you ask it of them. A question that has been asked for all of living memory. That is;
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Nobody I know in reality has been able to answer it, so I brought it to the playground so we could muse upon the possible solutions to this vexing problem. I'd rather keep this vaguely serious, if you all don't mind too much.

[Zrak]

1. With what?

2. It was T street, what was he supposed to do?

3. He didn't know who he was messing with and ran his mouth off.

[erikun]

Funny thing, I never did get the punchline to that joke until just a few months ago. I guess I'm just slow?

Spoiler

Show

"Passing along to the other side."

[Dallas-Dakota]

Because Gregor ''The Mountain'' Clegane is chasing it.

Edit: Sorry, didn't read the white text.

[Xuc Xac]

Serious answer: It's actually a really old joke and most people never learn the whole thing. "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side." is just the end of a very long joke. Before the chicken, there are many other animals crossing the road with puns for answers. The lack of a pun or other humour in the chicken's answer at the end is the punchline.

It's the medieval equivalent of the knock knock joke that ends with "Orange you glad I didn't say banana."

[Jormengand]

Serious answer: It's actually a really old joke and most people never learn the whole thing. "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side." is just the end of a very long joke. Before the chicken, there are many other animals crossing the road with puns for answers. The lack of a pun or other humour in the chicken's answer at the end is the punchline.

See, I always thought it was a joke about "The other side"...

[Bulldog Psion]

Because Gregor ''The Mountain'' Clegane is chasing it.

Edit: Sorry, didn't read the white text.

In what way is being chased by Gregor Clegane NOT serious?

[Kindablue]

See, I always thought it was a joke about "The other side"...

I feel dumb for never having thought of that.

[Cikomyr]

I always thought the point of the joke was that it had a double meaning regarding life and death. The Chicken crosses the road to go "to the other side" --> Death. The chicken commits suicide by crossing the road.

So whatever happens, it'll end up on the other side.

[Telonius]

The chicken didn't cross the road. The chicken has been taking that route for long before the road was there, and will continue taking it long after the road has crumbled to dust. The road is transitory, the chicken is eternal.

[SiuiS]

Funny thing, I never did get the punchline to that joke until just a few months ago. I guess I'm just slow?

Spoiler

Show

"Passing along to the other side."

Ooooooh my Luna I never actually got that! I heard something similar but it was a stupid reword and it never clicked oh Erikun thank you!

Serious answer: It's actually a really old joke and most people never learn the whole thing. "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side." is just the end of a very long joke. Before the chicken, there are many other animals crossing the road with puns for answers. The lack of a pun or other humour in the chicken's answer at the end is the punchline.

It's the medieval equivalent of the knock knock joke that ends with "Orange you glad I didn't say banana."

Where might one learn the whole?

[Zrak]

After reading the note in the wikipedia about a variation being the answers various famous persons would give, I feel like I know what Derrida's next book would have been had he lived longer.

[Gnome Alone]

I often go with:

"Why did the chicken cross the road?"

"....."

"Why do chickens do anything?"

"..............."

[nedz]

Because the Rooster had already laid an O

[Sartharina]

The "It's a joke about death" thing is NOT the actual punchline, as noted above. It's an orphaned end to a chain of jokes.

Another one is "How do you know if there are four elephants in your refrigerator?", with the punchline being "There's an empty Mini parked outside" - it's stripped of the context of the rest of the joke:
Q: How many elephants will fit into a Mini?
A: Four: Two in the front, two in the back.
Q: How many giraffes will fit into a Mini?
A: None. It's full of elephants.
Q: How do you get two whales in a Mini?
A: Along the M4 and across the Severn Bridge.
Q: How do you know there are two elephants in your refrigerator?
A: You can hear giggling when the light goes out.
Q: How do you know there are three elephants in your refrigerator?
A: You can't close the door.
Q: How do you know there are four elephants in your refrigerator?
A: There's an empty Mini parked outside.

[Gnoman]

I always heard it explained as an "unjoke" that you would use when a joke was expected. The humor being the unexpectedness of a simple, direct answer in a chain of jokes.

[Codex]

Because the road was in it's way.

[GoblinArchmage]

Why did the chicken cross the road?

No soap; radio.