Best of Summer: What makes the world’s first bar joke funny? No one knows.
What makes the world’s first documented bar joke funny? No one knows.
In a tweet that garnered thousands of responses in March, the Twitter account @DepthsOfWiki posted about a 4,000-year-old proverb written on a clay tablet. The line, which experts believe is a joke from the ancient civilization of Sumer, starts with the set-up, “A dog walks into a tavern.” But the punchline has left scholars and online commenters scratching their heads. The joke’s meaning has been lost, and finding it could reveal something unique about early human civilization.
In this episode, the first of two parts, Endless Thread journeys back in time, attempting to deconstruct the origins of humor and explain an unexplainable joke from the forgotten tablets of the past.
View all episodes
4.1
25412,541 ratings
What makes the world’s first documented bar joke funny? No one knows.
In a tweet that garnered thousands of responses in March, the Twitter account @DepthsOfWiki posted about a 4,000-year-old proverb written on a clay tablet. The line, which experts believe is a joke from the ancient civilization of Sumer, starts with the set-up, “A dog walks into a tavern.” But the punchline has left scholars and online commenters scratching their heads. The joke’s meaning has been lost, and finding it could reveal something unique about early human civilization.
In this episode, the first of two parts, Endless Thread journeys back in time, attempting to deconstruct the origins of humor and explain an unexplainable joke from the forgotten tablets of the past.
More shows like Endless Thread
View allOn Point | Podcast
3,783 Listeners
Radiolab
43,812 Listeners
This American Life
89,578 Listeners
the memory palace
6,797 Listeners
99% Invisible
26,006 Listeners
Criminal
36,889 Listeners
Death, Sex & Money
7,751 Listeners
Dear Sugars
5,619 Listeners
Sidedoor
2,119 Listeners
Twenty Thousand Hertz
3,814 Listeners
What Roman Mars Can Learn About Con Law
3,915 Listeners
Circle Round
13,764 Listeners
Decoder Ring
2,011 Listeners
You're Wrong About
21,223 Listeners
Last Seen
3,531 Listeners
Articles of Interest
3,243 Listeners
Anything For Selena
1,345 Listeners
The Atlas Obscura Podcast
1,428 Listeners
Search Engine
3,424 Listeners
Short Run
206 Listeners
If Books Could Kill
7,653 Listeners
The Common
78 Listeners
Beyond All Repair
2,930 Listeners