“Why did the chicken cross the road?”/“To get to the other side” is a classic riddle from the 19th century. A riddle of this joke is:
 
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
A: To have its motives questioned.
 
“Why did the chicken cross the road? To have his motives questioned” was posted on Twitter by Mike [redacted]on July 13, 2011. “Why did the chicken cross the road? To have it’s motives questioned” was posted on Twitter by Kyle Gormley later on July 13, 2011.
   
“OMG! Not another ‘why did the chicken cross the road’ joke… can’t a chicken cross the road without having its motives questioned!” was posted on Twitter by Charlie Alford on May 18, 2009. “RT @antijokeapple: Why did the chicken cross the road? Can’t a fucking chicken cross a road without having its motives questioned” was posted on Twitter by Adore Deleche on March 14, 2013.
 
“I dream of a world where chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned” is a non-riddle form of the joke.
   
       
Twitter
Charlie Alford
@AlwaysChum
OMG! Not another ‘why did the chicken cross the road’ joke… can’t a chicken cross the road without having its motives questioned!
8:36 AM - 18 May 2009
     
Twitter
Susheel Varma
@susheelvarma
Dreaming of better world this Diwali…Especially one in which a chicken crossing a road does not need to have its motives questioned.
3:10 PM - 17 Oct 2009
 
Twitter
dee
@tomyumsushi
“Why did the chicken cross the road?” “Why can’t a chicken do anything without having its motives questioned?!”
3:23 AM - 5 Feb 2010
   
Twitter
sweetener
@imsodonewithari
“why did the chicken cross the road?” “Can’t a chicken just cross a rad without having his motives questioned?!”
7:31 AM - 6 Jun 2010
   
Twitter
J-Mac 🇮🇪
@Nightbreed1984
Why did the chicken cross the road? Why can’t a chicken cross the road without having his motives questioned?
1:23 PM - 24 Jun 2011
   
Twitter
Mike [redacted]
@turbogeek421
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To have his motives questioned.
12:37 PM - 13 Jul 2011
   
Twitter
Kyle Gormley
@gromometry
Why did the chicken cross the road? To have it’s motives questioned.
9:54 PM - 13 Jul 2011
 
Twitter
Tyler Bradley
@TylerSBradley
Why’d the chicken cross the road? To have its motives questioned. #LetsGetCheesy @DennysGrandSlam http://ow.ly/6MgDSx  http://www.dennyssocial.com/lets_get_cheesy_tweet/ …
10:09 AM - 4 Oct 2011
       
Google Groups: VSA STAFF Group 2011-2012
Viet Idol Committees
Danny Pham
10/19/11
Joke 1:
Why did the chicken cross the road? To have his motives questioned.
 
Twitter
StarTrekBoob
@StarTrekOn
Why’d the chicken cross the road? To have its motives questioned.
4:40 PM - 8 Feb 2012
     
Twitter 
Adore Deleche 🍵
@itsivanchris
Replying to @antijokeapple
RT @antijokeapple: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Can’t a fucking chicken cross a road without having its motives questioned.
1:32 AM - 14 Mar 2013
 
Twitter 
Brick Tamland
@Ch4BrickTamland
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Can’t a chicken cross a road without having its fucking motives questioned.
10:15 PM - 10 Sep 2013
 
Twitter 
Karl Sharro
@KarlreMarks
This is the best version ever, how did I miss it: ‘Why did the chicken cross the road? To have its motives questioned’.
7:03 AM - 17 Mar 2015
 
Google Books
The Folkloresque:
Reframing Folklore in a Popular Culture World
Edited by Michael Dylan Foster and Jeffrey A. Tolbert
Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado
2016
Pg. ?:
One variation has an essentialist appeal: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To have his motives questioned for years to come.”
     
Twitter
Anti Joke Apple
@AntiJokerApple
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Can’t a fucking chicken cross a road without having its motives questioned.
11:21 PM - 12 Mar 2019
 
Reddit—Dadjokes
Posted by u/fish_dish99 April 10, 2019
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To have its motives questioned.