The oldest recorded joke[0], as recorded on a Sumerian tablet somewhere between 1900 and 2300 BC:

    Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart on her husband’s lap.

[0]https://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2017/09/oldest-know...

    An intellectual was told by someone: “your beard is now coming in.” So he went to the rear-entrance and waited for it. Another intellectual asked what he was doing. Once he heard the whole story, he said: “I’m not surprised that people say we lack common sense. How do you know that it’s not coming in by the other gate?”

Most of them suck by today's standards, but that one is genuinely still funny today!

> A student dunce went swimming and almost drowned. So now he swears he’ll never get into water until he’s really learned to swim.

This one is funny and deep at the same time.

https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/proverbs/t.6.1.05.html#t6105.p...

    73-75. A dog entered a tavern and said: "I can't see a thing. I'll open this one!"

It's not, but probably because this is a mistranslation.