Ancient Humor [Fart jokes are as old as humanity.]

[bassrique]

The world's oldest joke isn't that funny, but I must say it has potential.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/...d_dest=Twitter

(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 fart 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 Dave - The Home of Witty Comedy Banter : Dave.

[bassteban]

made me think of this: YouTube - Monty Python - The Funniest Joke In The World

[thefruitfarmer]

Originally Posted by bassteban

made me think of this: YouTube - Monty Python - The Funniest Joke In The World

That's even funnier if you have ever been exposed to the German sense of humour. It is culturally unique, they don't get puns. The sarcasm is at the level of a 12 year old. They obsess about precision though, which can be quite funny at times...

"Would sir be interested in a loyalty card?"

"Vell, I fink not, zat vould mean an extra 2 grammes veight in my vallet."

[hrodbert696]

Originally Posted by thefruitfarmer

That's even funnier if you have ever been exposed to the German sense of humour. It is culturally unique, they don't get puns. The sarcasm is at the level of a 12 year old. They obsess about precision though, which can be quite funny at times...

"Would sir be interested in a loyalty card?"

"Vell, I fink not, zat vould mean an extra 2 grammes veight in my vallet."

I totally disagree -- humor almost never translates from one culture or language to another, but when I was living in Germany the people I knew had a great sense of humor and there were some very funny German movies out. German actually lends itself to lots of puns and German comedians use them plenty.

[thefruitfarmer]

Originally Posted by hrodbert696

I totally disagree -- humor almost never translates from one culture or language to another, but when I was living in Germany the people I knew had a great sense of humor and there were some very funny German movies out. German actually lends itself to lots of puns and German comedians use them plenty.

Jolly good...

Do you know any good German jokes then?

I never got beyond "Vot a vondeful piece of engineering, could ve make it more perfect?"

[hrodbert696]

YouTube - 7 Zwerge Männer allein im Wald Part 2

YouTube - (T)Raumschiff Surprise Trailer - german deutsch

[Fassa Albrecht]

Another one from ancient Greece. Essentially the ancient Greek version of the dead parrot sketch from Monty Python. It was found in a joke book called the Laughter-Lover (Philogelos)

Man: The slave I just bought from you has died.
Slave-trader: Well, he didn't do that when I had him..

Yeah, not that good. And a jokey poem about doctors from ancient Rome:

I was languishing in bed
And once you heard of this
You came at once with your hundred medical students!
They all greeted me with their cold hands,
I wasn't feverish- I certainly am now!

[Jim Nazium]

An old man goes to the doctor. He says, "Doctor, I'm having terrible trouble with silent flatulence. Saturday night at the symphony, I broke wind about 5 times , all silent, thank goodness. Then Sunday at church, I passed gas about 4 times, all silently. Even just now while while we've been talking, I had two great big silent gas emissions. What can I do?"

The doctor says, "The first thing you need to do is get a hearing test."

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

JOKES FROM GERMANY

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
The police. I'm afraid there's been an accident. Your husband is in hospital.

A man walks into a pub.
He is an alcoholic whose drink problem is destroying his family.

Did you hear about the blonde who jumped out off a bridge?
She was clinically depressed and took her own life because of her terribly low self-esteem.

What do you call a cat with no tail?
A Manx cat.

Why do undertakers wear ties?
Because their profession is very serious, and it is important that their appearance has a degree of gravitas.

How many electricians does it take to change a light bulb?
One.

Why do women fake orgasms?
Because they want to give men the impression that they have climaxed.

Two men are sitting in a pub.
One man turns to the other and says: 'Last night I saw lots of strange men coming in and out of your wife's house.'
The other man replies: 'Yes, she has become a prostitute to subsidise her drug habit.'

Two cows are in a field. Suddenly, from behind a bush, a rabbit leaps out and runs away. One cow looks round a bit, eats some grass and then wanders off.

Why are there no aspirin in the jungle?
Because it would not be financially viable to attempt to sell pharmaceuticals in the largely unpopulated rainforest.

[Fassa Albrecht]

^I laughed for no apparent reason.

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

I made up a joke a few years ago about amplifier circuitry that only works in German.

The German, Austrian, and Swiss audio engineers and technicians I've told it to have always roared with laughter. But again, you have to know power amplifier technology and German, so its appeal is fairly limited.

[thesilence]

go read Cantebury Tales by Chaucer it has all the toilet humor you could think of

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Originally Posted by thesilence

go read Cantebury Tales by Chaucer it has all the toilet humor you could think of

OMG yes, that helped us get through English Lit in high school.