“Why did the chicken cross the road?” is a common riddle or joke in several languages. The answer or 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. “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 following is the answer given by some of the great men well known:
Plato: For the greater good.
Karl Marx: It was a historical inevitability.
Machiavelli: So that its subjects will view it with admiration,
as a chicken which has the daring and courage to
boldly cross the road, but also with fear, for whom
among them has the strength to contend with such a
paragon of avian virtue? In such a manner is the
princely chicken’s dominion maintained. Continue reading
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