- Archaeologists have found ancient dirty jokes in mosaics in Turkey
- The mosaics would have been found on the floor of public bathrooms in the second century
- They show R-rated plays on Greek and Roman myths
It looks like bathroom humor was a hit even back in the second century. Archaeologists have discovered some ancient Roman dirty jokes on floor mosaics found in Turkey that would have been part of a public bathroom around 1,800 years ago.
Back then, the public bathroom would have been used mostly by men – if they looked down, they could admire some R-rated plays on classic Greek and Roman myths. One features Narcissus, the mortal son of Greek gods, who is known for falling in love with his own reflection. Only in the playful mosaic, he’s seen looking down at the reflection of his own member.
“You have to understand the myths to make really come alive, but bathroom humor is kind of universal as it turns out,” explains one of the archeologists, Michael Hoff. “Instantly, anybody who would have seen that image would have seen the [visual] pun.”
Source: Live Science