It's funny enough that the topic of jokes is a subject of serious academic study. That the academics can't agree on the "first joke ever" or even when humans developed humor is downright hilarious. There's nothing quite as funny as watching a couple of educated fools argue over such a silly Thing.

The University of Wolverhampton says the first joke was a fart joke (awesome!) dating back to the ancient Sumerians. It's told in the form of a proverb and it's thought to date back to 1,900 BC or earlier. It goes like this: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap."

Personally, I like the idea that the first joke was a fart joke, but I have to admit, that one doesn't fall so humorously on modern ears.

Some believe that human joking went a lot further back, insisting that even cave men told jokes. This conclusion is based on a study of the Baka tribe, a primitive hunter-gatherer society, which today remains much like their cave-dwelling ancestors.  The study revealed that the Baka are "funny, sarcastic, kind, sad, up for a bit of gossip" and not afraid of "taking the piss out of people." (Mocking or ridiculing someone.)

Back then, people made fun of farts, sex, each other and nearby villages. The poor made fun of the rich and the rich made fun of the poor. Political and romantic rivals made fun of each other to better their odds in contest. That's the most interesting Thing about the "scientific inquiry" into humor: it reveals our ancient ancestors laughed at the same Things we laugh at today.

See you next week,
Bobby