These are the 10 oldest jokes in human history — and they prove that people have been laughing about their animals and sex lives for 4,000 years

Limestone male head,last quarter of the 6th century B.C.

A smiling limestone male head from the last quarter of the 6th century BC.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • In 2008, British historians tracked down the world's oldest joke — a fart joke from 1900 BC.
  • Here are the world's 10 oldest jokes, found during research led by humor expert Dr Paul McDonald at the University of Wolverhampton.
  • Visit INSIDER's homepage for more stories.

In 2008 a group of historians from the UK were commissioned to unearth the oldest joke ever written down.

The study was led by humor expert Dr Paul McDonald from the University of Wolverhampton.

The list reveals that humor has changed a lot in some respects, but, as the world's oldest joke shows, that toilet humor is here to stay.

7. A sex joke, Ancient Egypt, 30 BC.

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"Man is even more eager to copulate than a donkey. His purse is what restrains him."

6. A joke which is also a riddle, Ancient Greece, 429 BC.

A bust of Sophocles in the Pushkin Museum.
Pushkin Museum.

In "Oedipus Tyrannus," by Greek playwright Sophocles, a character gives the following line, which is less of a joke and more of a brainteaser.

"Question: What animal walks on four feet in the morning, two at noon and three at evening?

"Answer: Man. He goes on all fours as a baby, on two feet as a man and uses a cane in old age."

5. A pun on a name, Ancient Greece, 800 BC.

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In Homer's "The Odyssey" — written 2,800 years ago — Odysseus indulges in some dark humor.

"Odysseus tells the Cyclops that his real name is "nobody"."

"When Odysseus instructs his men to attack the Cyclops, the Cyclops shouts: "Help, nobody is attacking me!"

"No one comes to help."

4. A joke about an old married couple, Unknown, 1100 BC.

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"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?'"

3. A joke about livestock, Sumeria, 1200 BC.

This one from Sumeria in 1200 BC, is another brainteaser.

"Three ox drivers from Adab were thirsty: one owned the ox, the other owned the cow and the other owned the wagon's load.

"The owner of the ox refused to get water because he feared his ox would be eaten by a lion; the owner of the cow refused because he thought his cow might wander off into the desert; the owner of the wagon refused because he feared his load would be stolen.

"So they all went.

"In their absence the ox made love to the cow which gave birth to a calf which ate the wagon's load.

"Problem: Who owns the calf?"

2. Another sex joke, Ancient Egypt, 1600 BC.

One of the world's oldest jokes comes from the 1800 BC Westcar Papyrus.
Ägyptisches Museum

The world's second oldest joke was found in the Ancient Egyptian story book known as the Westcar Papyrus

It goes:

"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."

1. A fart joke, Sumeria, 1900 BC.

A Sumerian cuneiform tablet from around 3100–2900 BC.
Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Something which has never occurred since time immemorial..."

"A young woman did not fart in her husband's lap."

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