Culture

The Oldest Joke in the Book

by Jordan Yerman | August 1, 2008 at 05:09 am

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Evidently the oldest recorded joke is a fart joke. Some things just never go out of fashion, and body humor is one of them. What makes stuff like farting and pooping so funny?

Huh-huh.... poop...

Academics have compiled a list of the most ancient gags and the oldest, harking back to 1900BC, is a Sumerian proverb from what is now southern Iraq.

"Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap," goes the joke.

Randy pharaohs, thirsty ox-drivers and barbers also feature in the list.

The oldest British joke is also body-related:

"What hangs at a man's thigh and wants to poke the hole that it's often poked before? A key."

But seriously- why do we find this sort of thing so funny, and why, as humor trends have come and gone, has this remained throughout the course of societal development?

Maybe it's the human condition: we're animals, but we aspire to great heights: eyes toward the stars, feet in the mud. I'll think about it further as I place my forearm against my mouth and blow.

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Rob Peters

at 07:45 on August 1st, 2008

Ha. I think it's because flatulence is a great social leveller. It's a commonality among us that crosses class, race, religion, power, wealth.... No matter how clever we think we are or how enlightened we've become, there's always the ridiculousness of farts to keep us humble.