Today is International Joke Day, the annual celebration which encourages people to start the second half of the year with a smile on their faces. Especially when laughter can be in short supply when reading news headlines.
Those who choose to celebrate can either do so by telling a joke to a friend or co-worker, or by simply watching some comedy to lift their spirits. Some may choose to research the first joke ever told...
According to Guinness World Records, it’s been traced back to a Sumerian proverb dating from 1900 BC. It goes: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap."
Charming - and shows that toilet humour was just as popular back then as it is now.
For us here at Euronews Culture, we can’t think about the art of the joke without being reminded of the funniest joke in the world, courtesy of Monty Python.
