In 2008, Dr. Paul McDonald, the senior lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton’s School of Humanities, Languages, and Social Sciences in the UK, was tasked with finding the oldest example of recorded humor. For two months, McDonald and his team researched jokes that they defined as having “a clear set-up and punchline structure.” Going by that definition, they were able to trace their history back to 1900 BC. “The results provide a unique and compelling insight into how jokes have evolved over the years, both globally and in the UK,” McDonald said after conducting the study.
The earliest joke the team found is what the Guinness World Records database calls a “Sumerian fart proverb” and is now considered the oldest known joke. It was discovered on Old Babylonian tablets and may date back to 2300 BC. Evidently, the joke was intended to warn first-time husbands about their flatulent wives. Here’s how it translates: “Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.”
Don’t really get it? You’re not alone. Some have suggested that perhaps the woman in the joke hasn’t been honest about farting in her husband’s lap. Another possibility is that the farting in question had been a regular occurrence, for some reason. Whatever the case may be, the real takeaway here is that people have been laughing at farts for a very long time, among other taboo things.
The oldest British joke found during the study was dated back to the 10th Century and goes like this: “What hangs at a man’s thigh and wants to poke the hole that it’s often poked before? Answer: A key.” According to McDonald, all of the jokes they uncovered back then share “a willingness to deal with taboos and a degree of rebellion. Modern puns, Essex girl jokes and toilet humor can all be traced back to the very earliest jokes identified in this research.”
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