Not ideal, especially since records this niche are won on the margins, through clever manipulations of one’s conditions. My warmup throws, aided by a trusty onshore breeze, were promising. By sheer chance, the surveyors I’d found—a father–daughter duo—had both been competitive throwers themselves. In addition to measuring each throw’s distance, they had to ensure that the surface was completely level. He and his friend had been watching me the whole time, despite my efforts at subterfuge. My best throw that day—around 116 feet—was undoubtedly wind-assisted.
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I had been nervous to tell Gürcü I was coming for his record. Instead, I had to invite two witnesses to film the throw, as well as a professional surveyor to measure the distance and slope of the terrain. It was late at night in Turkey, but he was full of energy—thrilled that someone in the U.S. had taken an interest in his record setting. After about half an hour of watching me throw, Mellion took out his phone and tapped open its measurement app.
of the Funniest “Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road” Jokes
- ” — the answer being, “To get to the other side” — is more than just an anti-joke, turns out.
- So how did the internet react to this chicken theory?
- To maximize my distance, Gürcü explained, I would need a chicken whose weight exceeded 150 grams and whose height was short enough that it didn’t catch too much drag in midair.
- “Bro that’s dark as hell but kinda genius not going to lie,” wrote one user, while another added that “their childhood had been ruined” by the realisation.
- More than other age groups captured in another recent study, we’re burning through our paid time off to simply lie down and sleep.
- Perhaps the chicken wanted to avoid an even worse fate?
Interestingly, this recent X discussion is by no means the first time the question has been asked. However, the free-thinking X user isn’t suggesting the animal has accidentally become roadkill, but rather it made a conscious decision to “cross the road” into the afterlife. ‘Why does a chicken cross the street? Reader’s Digest has been telling jokes for more than 100 years, curated and reviewed over the last 20 years by Senior Features Editor Andy Simmons, a humor editor formerly of National Lampoon and the author of Now That’s Funny. The “joke” is so unfunny and obvious that it’s almost an anti-joke.
Anyone collaborating with the chicken, or assisting or enabling the imposition of road crossing by chickens, will be deemed legitimate targets in our struggle against tyranny. You can’t slip any ‘why does a chicken cross the street stuff’ over on me. Many online have recently realized that one of the most timeworn jokes in the English language is a clever, existential double entendre. The “why did the chicken cross the road?” joke is popular because it’s a simple and versatile setup that can lead to various punchlines and interpretations. But the question “why did the chicken cross the road?” had been used as a comedic setup for many years before that. After all, roads can be busy, and chickens can be slow, so the bird’s demise seems maybe more likely than it safely making its way across the street.
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The original “why did the chicken cross the road” joke? The joke has become iconic as an exemplary generic joke to which most people know the answer, and has been repeated and changed numerous times over the course of history. The first time I broke the record, unofficially and by myself, was on a breezy November day. As we finished our conversation, Gürcü urged me to stay in touch with questions about technique or chicken dimensions. He was the first (and only) throwing coach to respond to my inquiries, and I could hear his bewilderment as we spoke over the phone.
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- Mellion waited for his small class of throwers to wrap up, then took me to a nearby discus field.
- One class of variations enlists a creature other than the chicken to cross the road, in order to refer back to the original riddle.
- Like a living chicken, it tends to land gracelessly.
- My best throw that day—around 116 feet—was undoubtedly wind-assisted.
Dimensions-wise, the rubber chicken I’d settled on was a near match to the one Gürcü had recommended, though there were key sartorial differences. The chicken I was throwing was not the same model Gürcü had used. He instructed me to grasp my rubber chicken by the neck and plant my back foot.
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”. For example, a duck (or turkey) crosses “because it was the chicken’s day off”, and a dinosaur crosses “because chickens didn’t exist yet”. One class of variations enlists a creature other than the chicken to cross the road, in order to refer back to the original riddle. Why should not a chicken cross the road? According to music critic Gary Giddins in the Ken Burns documentary Jazz, the joke was spread through the United States by minstrel shows beginning in the 1840s as one of the first national jokes. For example (in the map below), there is a hotspot of snake mortality where snakes are crossing Ave E from the RUEP to the stormwater management basin (to the north).
Because of the Guinness rules forbidding a participant from gripping the chicken by the head or neck, I had tweaked my approach to more closely resemble a javelin toss. ” In the immediate term, though, I had just a few weeks to break this record. “Don’t think you’re running out of time,” Lachman told me. “Realize you have a lot of time left. Meanwhile, as Trump-era cronyism runs unchecked, the country’s trust in government is nearing an all-time low. More than other age groups captured in another recent study, we’re burning through our paid time off to simply lie down and sleep.
The first rubber chicken I ever threw didn’t go very far. Depending on the brand and specifications, a rubber chicken might twirl like a football in flight, or strafe on the breeze, or let out a long, braying whine. Perhaps the chickens can use the overhead bridge next time, as another suggested. Netizens praised the motorists for ensuring the chickens’ safety and joked that the animals should be fined for jaywalking. If we do not, or cannot, then our children will rightfully ask us the question, ‘So why did the chicken cross the road?
ELI5: The original “why did the chicken cross the road?” joke
If there are presently any chickens in Sinn Fein, we are not aware of it. So where does the chicken joke came from? ‘Well, why does a chicken with a sack of flour on its back cross the street? Note the way that ‘why the chicken’ has effectively become an adjective. The chicken owner, incidentally, was not found liable… By 1919 an American playwright can include a rather good dialogue with the chicken joke in (When the Circus came to Town).
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By 1907 a British newspaper, the Western Daily News, can play with the joke using it for the title of piece on a chicken that ran into a bike. In the first decades of the twentieth century there are many signs that the chicken joke was as familiar to readers as it is to us. In 1867 we get ‘Why is a chicken a crossing the road like a burglary? This shows us that (i) our ancestors were just as foolish as us; and (ii) the ‘cross the road’ joke must have been very well established because otherwise the following would fall flat.
While some seem won over by the macabre reading of the classic joke format, others reckon they may need more convincing. So how did the internet react to this chicken theory? Perhaps the chicken wanted to avoid an even worse fate? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. A joke and puzzle pad filled with activities kids will love!
FAQs for the “Why did the chicken cross the road?” joke
As Lachman spoke, I wondered if my chicken-throwing record might count in the same way. It turns out that as with traditional bird flight, the ideal rubber chicken throw is all about physical parameters. Much of this is true of rubber chickens too. (A £200 donation to the Loyalist Prisoners Association will ensure free passage of the chicken with respect to the road and the crossing thereof, till the same time next month anyhow. Do chickens have kneecaps?) But it’s become so ubiquitous that it’s spawned all sorts of variations, parodies and jokes about other things crossing the road. I would instead have to throw across the wind, aiming my chickens far to the right and watching them slice down into our agreed-upon target area.
“I must admit, I kind of appreciate the closure on this whole chicken crossing the road business.” ” — the answer being, “To get to the other side” — is more than just an anti-joke, turns out. The iconic one-liner, “Why did the chicken cross the road? It’s also a light-hearted reminder not to overthink things—and that sometimes the simplest answer is the most delightful.
What exactly is an “anti-joke” (and why is it funny)?
There are many riddles that assume a familiarity with this well-known riddle and its answer.
One of the most repeated food restrictions in the Bible isn’t about animals—it’s about blood. Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a foster-based dog rescue in Massachusetts, has taken in two dogs whose story highlights the difference between survival and truly being cared for. Then another message came in from a street over. No, it’s a brilliant literary device.