History of International Joke Day
International Joke Day seems to have officially begun in the United States but whatever the origins of International Joke Day, it is clear that jokes themselves pre-date by hundreds and hundreds of years. The first joke is often attributed to the Greeks, specifically Palamedes, who is also credited with the invention of many other things. An example of ancient Greek joke telling reads thus:
“A barber, a bald man and an absent-minded professor take a journey together. They have to camp overnight, and so decide to take turns watching the luggage. When it’s the barber’s turn, he gets bored, so amuses himself by shaving the head of the professor. When the professor is woken up for his shift, he feels his head, and says “How stupid is that barber? He’s woken up the bald man instead of me.”
Greece also boasts the first comedy club, though its purpose was sharing jokes among friends rather than stand up performances as we have now. Jokes have likely been told since man first looked at himself in a pool of water and passed judgment on his own complexion, so it’s a safe bet that people have been celebrating jokes for a long time.