--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I haven't checked, but I highly suspect…" description: "\"I haven't checked, but I highly suspect that chickens evolved from an egg-laying ancestor, which would mean that there were, in fact, eggs before there..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/ta-nehisi-coates-733_chicken_i-haven-t-checked-but-i-highly-suspect-t_1822298.png" --- # I haven't checked, but I highly suspect that chickens… ![“I haven't checked, but I highly suspect that chickens evolved from an egg-laying ancestor, which would mean that there were, in fact, eggs before there were chickens. Genius.” quote by Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/ta-nehisi-coates-733_chicken_i-haven-t-checked-but-i-highly-suspect-t_1822298.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/ta-nehisi-coates-733_chicken_i-haven-t-checked-but-i-highly-suspect-t_1822298.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9bd/ta-nehisi-coates-733_chicken_i-haven-t-checked-but-i-highly-suspect-t_1822298.png) > “I haven't checked, but I highly suspect that chickens evolved from an egg-laying ancestor, which would mean that there were, in fact, eggs before there were chickens. Genius.” [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Eggs existed before chickens, highlighting that origins can precede the entities they produce. **In simple terms:** Eggs came first, showing origins can precede. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about origins. Themes origin causality paradox evolution logic Mood thought‑provoking humorous Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - science education - debate - writing - public speaking - curiosity Key Concepts biology philosophy critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What other “firsts” challenge common beliefs? - How do we verify such claims? A Different Perspective Simplistic answers may ignore complex evolutionary pathways. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) ## Related quotes > [To make extra money, my parents would sell eggs and chickens. I was very little. 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Sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/one-recent-menu-for-suspected-terrorists-at-guantanamo-consisted-of/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [I was sixty-six years old. I still had to make a living. I looked at my social security check of 105 dollars and decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colonel-sanders/i-was-sixty-six-years-old-i-still-had-to-make-a-living-i-looked-at-my/) [Colonel Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colonel-sanders/) > [We got famous off singing about a chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-kinney/we-got-famous-off-singing-about-a-chicken/) [Sean Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-kinney/) > [To get a better piece of chicken, you'd have to be a rooster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-mantle/to-get-a-better-piece-of-chicken-you-d-have-to-be-a-rooster/) [Mickey Mantle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-mantle/) > [There are a lot of things I cannot do, such as eat books and read chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/there-are-a-lot-of-things-i-cannot-do-such-as-eat-books-and-read/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [Grasshopper always wrong in argument with chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/grasshopper-always-wrong-in-argument-with-chicken/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The chicken did not cross the road. The road passed beneath the chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-chicken-did-not-cross-the-road-the-road-passed-beneath-the-chicken/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [We are constituted a good deal like chickens, which, taken from the hen, and put in a basket of cotton in the chimney-corner, willoften…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-are-constituted-a-good-deal-like-chickens-which-taken-from-the-hen/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The chickens have come home to roast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ace/the-chickens-have-come-home-to-roast/) [Jane Ace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ace/) > [I eat a lot of chicken with salad or salmon with salad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ellison/i-eat-a-lot-of-chicken-with-salad-or-salmon-with-salad/) [Jennifer Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ellison/) > [call it chicken salad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/call-it-chicken-salad/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I joined PETA for minks and dogs. 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I didn't see that coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/you-don-t-make-a-case-for-reparations-thinking-oh-yeah-people-are/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“And I know that there are black boys and black girls out there lost in a Bermuda triangle of the mind or stranded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/and-i-know-that-there-are-black-boys-and-black-girls-out-there-lost/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) [Explore all 388 Ta-Nehisi Coates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) ## More Chicken quotes > [I have my meals delivered... you know what I like? Chicken and rice... But the problem with being a defensive lineman is, if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-douglas/i-have-my-meals-delivered-you-know-what-i-like-chicken-and-rice-but/) [Hugh Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-douglas/) > [“Oh it don't make no kind of sense. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bird-fights-its-way-out-of-the-egg-the-egg-is-the-world-who-would/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Having parents who are chicken sexers - I had trouble explaining that to kids at school!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-isaac-chung/having-parents-who-are-chicken-sexers-i-had-trouble-explaining-that/) [Lee Isaac Chung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-isaac-chung/) > [I have a great time cooking and eating Thai green chicken curry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-have-a-great-time-cooking-and-eating-thai-green-chicken-curry/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [call it chicken salad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/call-it-chicken-salad/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [WE RUN OUT OF CHICKEN!!…i was like WHAT ON EARTH!!!...KFC RUN OUT OF CHICKEN…what kind of KFC is this?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-run-out-of-chicken-i-was-like-what-on-earth-kfc-run-out-of-chicken/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I had a modelling job and then it became a poster, it meant that my kids and I could have turkey for Christmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maye-musk/if-i-had-a-modelling-job-and-then-it-became-a-poster-it-meant-that-my/) [Maye Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maye-musk/) > [My standard Nando's order is a chicken breast burger served 'medium,' which is still fairly spicy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/my-standard-nando-s-order-is-a-chicken-breast-burger-served-medium/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [“The schizophrenic in the sleeping bag with a live chicken and a can of tomato soup spilling onto the sidewalk had no right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-schizophrenic-in-the-sleeping-bag-with-a-live-chicken-and-a-can/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Dinner is usually rice, vegetables and chicken, or I'll make fajitas, and we'll do roast chicken on the weekend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/dinner-is-usually-rice-vegetables-and-chicken-or-i-ll-make-fajitas/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [Chicken troll :P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritesh/chicken-troll-p/) [Ritesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritesh/) > [I eat a lot of chicken with salad or salmon with salad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ellison/i-eat-a-lot-of-chicken-with-salad-or-salmon-with-salad/) [Jennifer Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ellison/) Browse all 941 Chicken quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I haven't checked, but I highly suspect that chickens evolved from an egg-laying ancestor, which would mean that there were, in fact, eggs before there were chickens. 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