World's Oldest Joke!

[kujo]

[quote]LONDON (Reuters) - The world's oldest recorded joke has been traced back to 1900 BC and suggests toilet humor was as popular with the ancients as it is today.

It is a saying of the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern Iraq and goes: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fluffy air extraction in her husband's lap."

It heads the world's oldest top 10 joke list published by the University of Wolverhampton Thursday.

A 1600 BC gag about a pharaoh, said to be King Snofru, comes second -- "How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? 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 British joke dates back to the 10th Century and reveals the bawdy face of the Anglo-Saxons -- "What hangs at a man's thigh and wants to poke the hole that it's often poked before? Answer: A key."

"Jokes have varied over the years, with some taking the question and answer format while others are witty proverbs or riddles," said the report's writer Dr Paul McDonald, senior lecturer at the university.

"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."

The study was commissioned by television channel Dave. The top 10 oldest jokes can be viewed at www.dave-tv.co.uk.[/quote] Source: Reuters.



My ex-girlfriend farted on the couch when we were watching TV once...I thought it was the funniest thing ever!

She, on the otherhand, was mortified.

Edited August 2, 2008 by kujo

[Dave]

[quote name='kujo' post='1616019' date='Aug 2 2008, 06:49 PM']Source: Reuters.



My ex-girlfriend farted on the couch when we were watching TV once...I thought it was the funniest thing ever!

She, on the otherhand, was mortified. [/quote]

Wow, it's too bad she wasn't dating me at the time! I refuse to be the first to rip one in front of anybody, and that includes girls! So if I were the one dating her, and she farted while watching TV, then, and only then, would I feel comfortable enough to rip one around her (dang these blasted filters).

Edited August 2, 2008 by Dave

[kujo]

Haha. I live with 4 other guys and have an open door policy with my 4 dude neighbors, so there is an unspoken comfort and acceptance of the more-than-occasional . Most of our lady friends are used to it by now.

[jeffpugh]

I didnt know that word was filtered too. Go figure.

[kujo]

I bet you phart isn't.

[XIX]

is fluffy air extraction philtered?

[Old_Joe]

No wonder I didn't get it. I think it's funny that graffiti and jokes are pretty much the same nowadays as they were 4000 years ago.

[Justin86]

How old s "Why did the chicken cross the road?" I thought that would have been the oldest joke.

[kujo]

[quote name='Justin86' post='1616345' date='Aug 3 2008, 03:13 AM']How old s "Why did the chicken cross the road?" I thought that would have been the oldest joke.[/quote]

When I clicked on the link originally, I thought it would be that or "knock-knock" jokes.

[Ash Wednesday]

[quote]The study was commissioned by television channel Dave. The top 10 oldest jokes can be viewed at www.dave-tv.co.uk.[/quote]

Wait a minute...studies on ancient fluffy air extraction jokes carried out by..............channel Dave?

Maybe only older schoolers get the funny coincidence about that one.

[XIX]

You know, I would have thought that "pull my finger" was the oldest joke ever.

[Deb]

I am not sure they can be considered jokes because they aren't funny. I can't imagine they didn't have something really good to laugh about.

P.S. the divergence of this topic has turned it into a really lame thread.

[kujo]

[quote name='Deb' post='1616661' date='Aug 3 2008, 09:09 PM']I am not sure they can be considered jokes because they aren't funny. I can't imagine they didn't have something really good to laugh about.

P.S. the divergence of this topic has turned it into a really lame thread.[/quote]

I'm sure it's one of those things where the original words in the language rhymed or had some innuendo about them.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='kujo' post='1616765' date='Aug 4 2008, 05:17 AM']I'm sure it's one of those things where the original words in the language rhymed or had some innuendo about them.[/quote]
I'm sure. It was quite funny learning Middle Egyptian with my professor, as he kept getting cracked up with the puns. Or with something else regarding language (such as discussing Kipling's response to the Tale of Sinuhe).

[VeniteAdoremus]

We had to learn jokes in Latin. Like "Have you seen X's new wife? She's blind in one eye!" "Oh, that means he must be blind in both eyes."

...it's funnier in Latin.

[salterrae]

JM + JT

[quote name='VeniteAdoremus' post='1616848' date='Aug 4 2008, 05:10 AM']We had to learn jokes in Latin. Like "Have you seen X's new wife? She's blind in one eye!" "Oh, that means he must be blind in both eyes."

...it's funnier in Latin.[/quote]
I got it after a few seconds.