Where did the joke ‘why did the chicken cross the road’ come from and why is it funny?
Firstly, I don’t know the answer to the question in the title so this is me asking rather than me explaining. And I don’t know why it’s funny either. I don’t even know if it is funny. But what is funny is that I think I can still remember the first time I heard it, even though I was very young. It is probably one of my earliest memories and I didn’t find it funny then either. I just assumed I was missing something and that it had went over my head.
I came across other jokes like that as I was growing up. Hearing them as a child they would sound innocent and mildly funny. Then on getting a little bit older and learning a bit I would discover the true double meaning of the joke. The reward from jokes like that is that you feel big and clever once you know them.
Maybe what is funny about the chicken joke is that after hearing it for the first time and the punch-line you look back blankly at whoever told it to you and wonder if they really expect you to laugh at it. The natural reaction of the paranoid is to think that you missed something and, not wanting to seem slow, you might manage a knowing smile and hope you’ll be able to work it out later on.
After a couple of years of pondering the question it might eventually dawn on you, provided nobody already told you, that there is no hidden meaning; and maybe that is what’s funny. If it is, it’s a very slow pay-off but possibly a good lesson in life: that everything doesn’t have to have a meaning. Some things just are as they are.
Or maybe I’m still missing something. Maybe this chicken joke is told to you in childhood because it contains some vital piece of knowledge that is only revealed to you on your death-bed. Maybe the last thing that flashes across your mind in your last moments on earth is the alternative ending to the chicken joke. The one that is funny. Maybe that is why people are often said to die with smiles on their faces.
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From Tiny Seeds. . . http://bonsai-tree.blog.com
This is the story of a tree from its origin as a tiny little seed to its climax as a tiny little tree. This is a blog about small trees and how I want to grow them.
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Now this is probably the
Now this is probably the most interesting thing that's ever come out of that old....joke, is it? I'd love to think that as I cross death's threshold I'll get the answer to something......anything....even the chicken joke. LOL!!
I hope it's a long time
I hope it's a long time before either of us find out the meaning of the chicken joke . . . before we cross to the other side!
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From Tiny Seeds. . . http://bonsai-tree.blog.com
This is the story of a tree from its origin as a tiny little seed to its climax as a tiny little tree. This is a blog about small trees and how I want to grow them.
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I don't know, Sean. I'm
I don't know, Sean. I'm kinda curious now to know just what will be revealed as I cross over. Of course, I've spent a few more years wondering about that chicken than you have. :-D
As long as it's a happy
As long as it's a happy ending! Isn't it always better to save the best to last? In this case it'll be the very last!
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From Tiny Seeds. . . http://bonsai-tree.blog.com
This is the story of a tree from its origin as a tiny little seed to its climax as a tiny little tree. This is a blog about small trees and how I want to grow them.
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