this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2025
2 points (100.0% liked)
History Memes
921 readers
109 users here now
A place to share history memes!
Rules:
-
No sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, assorted bigotry, etc.
-
No fascism (including tankies/red fash), atrocity denial or apologia, etc.
-
Tag NSFW pics as NSFW.
-
Follow all Piefed.social rules.
Banner courtesy of @setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world
founded 6 months ago
MODERATORS
2
Clay tablet, Neo-Assyrian, ca. 911-612 BC (Early example of recorded flatulence humor)
(lemmy.world)
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36433522 (because what's more memetic than a fart joke?)
^Hope^ ^you^ ^don't^ ^mind^ ^if^ ^I^ ^borrow^ ^this.^
Explanation: This clay tablet contains an example of written fart humor. The same joke can be found in a collection of Sumerian proverbs dating back to 1900-1600 BC as well. Some things never change.
Line 5 referenced by the translation is immediately below the horizontal line in the tablet image above.
Additional reading:
Electronic Babylonian Library (tablet image and additional translation details): BM.98743
Internet Archive preview showing the translation in image above: Lambert, Wilfred G. 1963. Babylonian Wisdom Literature.
Wiki page on flatulence humor
Reuters article on this and other old jokes
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, proverbs: collection 1 (translation of older source with link to transliteration of cuneiform)
there doesn't seem to be anything here