“Why did the otter cross the road?”/“To get to the otter side.”
“Why did the chicken cross the road?”/“To get to the other side” is a classic riddle from the 19th century. An otter version is:
Q: Why did the otter cross the road?
A: To get to the otter side.
The otter version of the joke has been cited in print since at least 1978.
“Why did the fur trapper cross the road?”/“To get to the otter’s hide” is a related riddle.
Wikipedia: Otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the weasel family Mustelidae, which also includes badgers, honey badgers, martens, minks, polecats, and wolverines.
10 May 1978, Sentinel Star (Orlando, FL), “Reader forum,” pg. 10, col. 3:
“Why did these otters cross Hall Road?”
The answer is a simple one—“To get to the ‘Otter’ side!”—MARION H. EVANS, Winter Park.
31 May 1981, Newsday (Long Island, NY), “Smiles,” Kidsday sec., pg. K9, col. 3:
Why did the otter cross the road?
To get to the otter side.
—Michele Ferrante, Oakdale
Google Books
October 1982, Boys’ Life, “Think & Grin,” pg. 82, col. 3:
Mark: Why did the otter cross the road?
Mike: To get to the otter side.—John Dekowski, Brookpark, Ohio.
Google Books
The Zaniest Riddle Book in the World
By Joseph Rosenbloom
New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
1984
Pg. 13:
Why did the otter cross the road?
To get to the otter side.
Google Books
Kids’ Funniest Jokes
Edited by Sheila Anne Barry
New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
1993
Pg. 80:
Why did the otter cross the road?
To get to the otter side.
JESSICA NEIL, 10
Google Books
Laugh Out Loud Canadian Jokes
By Howard Hershkowitz, Erin O’Connor and Stella Partheniou Grasso
Toronto, ON: Scholastic Canada Ltd.
2017
Pg. 323:
Why did the otter cross the road?
To get to the otter side.
Reddit—Dad Jokes
Why did the river dog cross the road? (self.dadjokes)
submitted January 11, 2018 by 5zgood
To get to the otter side.