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

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

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

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.

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.

"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, 1800-1600 BC.

The world's second oldest joke was found in the Ancient Egyptian story book known as the Westcar Papyrus, written some time between 1800-1600 BC. 

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.

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

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