Joke 755

I read this on punoftheday:

The ancient Romans only gathered once a week, because that was enough forum.

I liked it so much, I Googled ‘joke ancient rome’ (my dirty little secret is out: Googling is the only time I don’t use capitals) to flesh out this post.  I came across a Guardian story from 2009.  A joke book, believed to be more than 1600 years old, was discovered by classical professor Mary Beard.  

I give you two jokes from the book, as described in the article:

An ancient version of Monty Python’s dead parrot sketch sees a man buy a slave, who dies shortly afterwards. When he complains to the seller, he is told: “He didn’t die when I owned him.”

Beard’s favourite joke is a version of the Englishman, Irishman, Scotsman variety, with a barber, a bald man and an absent-minded professor taking a journey together. They have to camp overnight, 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.”

Don’t blame me – I said they were classical, not classic.  They were funny when they were written.   Saltem, spero sic.