Broken (in the best possible way)

by Jenny Lawson

You know the joke “Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side”? I didn’t get that joke until last week. Like, I thought it was just one of those jokes like, “Why did the pig eat lunch? Because he was hungry,” which Victor said isn’t a joke, and I was like, “Yeah, I thought the point was that it’s not funny.” But then I saw a cartoon of the joke and the chicken was a ghost that had been hit by a car and he was like, “Worth it,” and I was all, “OH MY GOD, THE OTHER SIDE = DEATH. THE CHICKEN IS SUICIDAL,” and suddenly I understood the joke for the first time ever and now I’m wondering what other basic things I think I understand but really don’t at all, and Victor says there are probably too many too count and I would argue with him but I’m still vulnerable from this chicken epiphany, and now I’m questioning everything, including how footnotes work.

Is that really what the joke is? Because I feel like it's the prototypical joke you tell small children. And obviously at that age you aren't going to get it. Is this really what you're supposed to get??