"Why did the chicken cross the road?" It's probably one of the oldest jokes in the joke book. Seriously, it's up there with set-ups like "A Scotsman, an Englishman and an Irishman walk into a bar" or "Knock knock; who's there?" in terms of joke formats that have been flogged like the proverbial dead horse.
But how many times have you actually seen a chicken cross the road anyway? It's not a common occurrence in my experience. Anyway, there are plenty of unfortunate battery hens out there who never see the outside of a cage, let along get the chance to trot across another road. But I digress.
It seems as though somebody has taken the joke set-up literally. In fact, they're not so much interested in 'why' a chicken crossed the road, so much as they are preoccupied with 'how.' And to that end, an inventor has come up with a pretty dang wacky invention. Namely, the chicken harness.
That's right folks, you read that correctly: it's a special harness for chickens that allows you to attach a lead to their backs and walk poultry just like a dog. Why you would actually want to do this is beyond me: maybe there are farmers out there who watched Chicken Run and assumed it was a documentary?
Here you can see the product from Yesito.com, which shows how it works. The harness has a simple buckle and adjustable straps that fit any average-sized hen, and if that wasn't impressive enough, it also comes complete with a natty bow tie affixed to the front for when your feathered friend needs to look extra fancy.
That's right: for the price of just $50, you can start walking your own chickens safely across the road. Still, that doesn't answer the question of why anyone would want to. I guess we may never know...