World’s Oldest Joke That Goes Back To 1900 BC Discovered By Researchers

O.K. so it’s not the funniest punch line in the world. And it may be offensive to some (viewer discretion is advised.) But a British University claims it has found evidence of the world’s oldest joke. It dates back to 1900 BC and was discovered as part of a Sumerian proverb collection in ancient Iraq.

Roughly translated, it states: “Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.”

It’s a vulgar line and it’s not especially funny but it shows that some form of humour was alive and well long ago and that even then people were obsessed with dirty jokes.

The second oldest line is at least a bit more amusing. It comes from 1600 B.C. and asks the proverbial question: “How do you entertain a bored pharaoh?”

The answer: “You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fishing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish.”

The oldest of the old lines were researched by the University of Wolverhampton, and its study concludes people were saying things in jest even before there was a Henny Youngman or a Milton Berle – two vaudevillians who knew a thing or two about old jokes.

“Jokes have varied over the years, with some taking the question and answer format while others are witty proverbs or riddles,” explains report author Dr. Paul McDonald.

“What they all share however, is 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.”

Some of the lines are a bit more modern sounding. Take oldest joke number 4, credited to the Egyptians in 1100 BC, which sounds like something you might hear on one of today’s sitcoms.

“A woman who was blind in one eye has been married to a man for 20 years. When he found another woman he said to her, “I shall divorce you because you are said to be blind in one eye.” And she answered him: “Have you just discovered that after 20 years of marriage!?”

Then there’s number 9, a joke that wouldn’t have prompted the retort ‘stop me if you heard this one’ because in the 4th or 5th century AD, no one could have.

“Wishing to teach his donkey not to eat, a pedant did not offer him any food. When the donkey died of hunger, he said “I’ve had a great loss. Just when he had learned not to eat, he died.”

To see the full list of the top 10 oldest jokes ever discovered, click here.