Why did the chicken cross the road? Joseph Liken's answer takes the classic joke to a whole new dimension.
To escape from the wormhole that leads to the black hole of course.
That’s the answer that Joseph Likens, a second-grader at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Brewster, New York, provided for a classroom assignment, taking the classic joke to a whole new dimension.
Every spring, Lorna Rubin, a library media specialist at the JFK Elementary School, uses the book, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” to teach children about creative interpretation. Illustrated by 14 different children’s artists, the story presents a collection of jokes that answer the classic chicken question.
“We talk about each artist’s interpretation, and then the children come up with their own answers,” Rubin said. “So far, Joseph has been the only student I’ve had do something with black holes.”
In keeping with the spirit, we did some digging of our own and found a plethora of physics-related answers to the age old question:
(We apologize in advance for the corny nature of the following jokes. Remember, we are a particle physics magazine.)
Q: Why did the quantum chicken cross the road?
A: It was already on both sides of the road!
Q: Why did the graduate student cross the road?
A: He was writing his dissertation on the chicken.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the Mobius strip?
A: To get to the same side.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Occam: It was the simplest way to get to the other side.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Newton: Chickens at rest tend to stay at rest, chickens in motion tend to cross roads.
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?
Einstein: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken depends on your frame of reference.
For more physics jokes with a chicken theme, visit http://www.physics.harvard.edu/academics/undergrad/chickenroad.html
