World's Oldest Jokes: Not Much has Changed

The oldest joke of the lot dates from about 1900 BC. The joke, found on Sumerian tablets and translated into English, is probably a lot older than that: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap."

My favorite of the lot is #4, from Egypt, about 3,100 years ago, about a woman with one eye, married to a husband who - you'll have to read that one yourself.

The University of Woverhampton did this study, on commission from television network Dave.

What I see in this list of ten is that, over a span of almost four millennia, people have thought that life's incongruities are funny:

• Soaring passion punctuated by embarrassing body functions
• Exalted leaders with the interests of a teenage boy

And we still see riddles and jokes that twist language and assumptions as funny:

• Plays on words like
  • Odysseus telling the Cyclops that his real name is nobody. Later, the Cyclops shouts: "Help, nobody is attacking me!"
  • A king, asked how he wanted his hair cut, saying, "silently"
• Riddles that demand a re-thinking of what terms like "leg" can mean, like the animal riddle in "Oedipus Tyrannus"

A professor at Wolverton has a more learned and academic take on what the list shows. I'll quote that, after these links:

• "World's ten oldest jokes"
  television channel Dave
• "World's oldest joke traced back to 1900 BC"
  Reuters (August 1, 2008)
• "The world's ten oldest jokes revealed"
  University of Wolverhampton (August 8, 2008) (no kidding - that's how it's stamped)

And now, the a professorial statement on the 10 oldest jokes and humor, from the University of Wolverhampton's Dr Paul McDonald, Senior lecturer:

"The Dave Historical Humour Study shows that jokes have varied over the years, with some taking the question and answer format while others are witty proverbs or riddles. What they all share however, is a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of rebellion. Modern puns, Essex girl jokes and toilet humour can all be traced back to the very earliest jokes identified in this research."

So that's what they have in common, "a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of rebellion."

Remarkable! Taboos and don't-discuss topics have remained unchanged from Victorian England to Sumer of the Old Babylonian period. Who knew?