"Why did the chicken cross the…

“Why did the chicken cross the road?”/“To get to the other side” is a classic riddle from the 19th century. The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic put a “social distancing” spin on the answer:

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: Social distancing.

The riddle was posted on Twitter by Karen Farber on March 15, 2020, but was probably thought up by many people independently.

Wikipedia: 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The outbreak was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019, and was recognised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020.

Twitter
Karen Farber
@Farbeka
@DocAtCDI
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Social distancing
8:33 AM · Mar 15, 2020·Twitter Web App

Twitter
Shella
@allthewayshella
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Social distancing, stay on your own side of the street!
2:57 PM · Mar 15, 2020·Twitter for Android

Twitter
Daniel Glasser
@dglasser13
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: Social distancing.
11:26 AM · Mar 16, 2020·Twitter Web App

Twitter
hapless nitwit
@hapless_nitwit
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To maintain social distancing.
4:50 PM · Mar 16, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Miko
@MikoHughes
Why did the the chicken cross the road?
Social distancing.
1:45 PM · Mar 17, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
RitaTheCadburyEggHater
@reccastle
Today is National Poultry Day!
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To practice social distancing responsibly.
10:02 AM · Mar 19, 2020·Twitter Web App

Twitter
Fun Jicey
@funjicey
Joke update 2020
Q. Why did the chicken cross the road?
A. Social Distancing. #coronavirus #CoronaVirusUpdate #coronavirusireland #COVID19ireland
2:33 PM · Mar 21, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Twitter
Muckle_Shuffle
@MuckleShuffle84
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Social distancing.
11:03 AM · Mar 28, 2020·Twitter for iPhone

Facebook
Epic Burger
March 28, 2020 at 2:28 PM ·
Why did the chicken cross the road? To maintain social distance of course! These new dippable tenders are available at all open locations for carryout and on Uber Eats, Grubhub and DoorDash #epicburger

Facebook
George’s Bakery
March 31, 2020 at 11:00 AM ·
Why did the chicken cross the road? It was social distancing 🐣

Facebook
89.7 Bay
April 3, 2020 at 9:57 AM ·
Why did the chicken cross the road? .... to practice social distancing??

Twitter
Bob Golen
@BobGolen
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Social distancing.
8:18 PM · Apr 7, 2020·Twitter Web App

Twitter
Laura Sangha
@_drsang
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Social distancing.
1:14 PM · Apr 9, 2020·Twitter Web App

Twitter
Keira McCormack
@KeKe_McC
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To maintain adequate social distancing
#stayhome #protecttheHNS
1:25 PM · Apr 10, 2020·Twitter for iPad

Twitter
Chloe✡︎Levian
@ChloeLevian
why did the chicken cross the road? because someone started walking next to them and they needed to practice social distancing
2:31 AM · Apr 12, 2020·Twitter Web App

“Why did the chicken cross the road?”/“Social distancing.”