<P> "Why did the chicken cross the road?" is a common riddle joke, with the answer being to get to the other side . It 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 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 . </P> <P> Alternatively, the punchline can be regarded as the chicken "getting to the other side" as a euphemism for death, and crossing the road being its method of suicide . This interpretation of the joke can be understood through a philosophically nihilist lens, in which the chicken, seeking to both assert his free will and end the misery of his meaningless existence, chooses to cross a busy road to reach the other side of mortality - death - and as such, intentionally crosses the road to commit suicide . </P> <P> The riddle appeared in an 1847 edition of The Knickerbocker, a New York City monthly magazine: </P> <P> There are' quips and quillets' which seem actual conundrums, but yet are none . Of such is this:' Why does a chicken cross the street? (') Are you' out of town?' Do you' give it up?' Well, then:' Because it wants to get on the other side!' </P>

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