The World’s Second Oldest Joke

The world’s second oldest joke is an Egyptian joke about King Snofru. Here is the joke:

“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 world’s oldest recorded joke has been traced back to 1900 BC. It is a Sumerian joke.

To read the world’s oldest recorded joke, click here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tag: Jokes