Let’s face it, life is hard. You’ve got bills to pay, awkward conversations to survive, and Wi-Fi that works only when your neighbour isn’t watching Netflix. And yet, through it all, one thing has kept humanity sane: laughter. From cavemen laughing at bumbling tumbles to TikTok stars making dad jokes in 15-second videos, humour has been the human narrative since day one. But here's the surprise: jokes haven't only made us LOL, they've contributed to the shaping of civilisations. Here's a time-travelling, side-splitting trip through how laughter assisted us in evolving from cave dwellers to meme creators.
Cavemen and the First LOLs
Imagine a band of early men sitting by the fire. One gets a foot on a rock, falls into a heap of mammoth dung, and the others burst out laughing. That, ladies and gentlemen, could have been the first joke ever told. Scientists think that laughter predates verbal language. It probably developed as a means of connecting with other people. If a person laughed along with you, they didn't pose a threat. That was important in the ancient world. So, in caveman shorthand:
- Laughter = trust
- Trust = survival
- Survival = more opportunities to laugh at your clumsy pal
Even without language, humans had a common sense: a shared laugh could make strangers into friends. Cavemen had no stand-up comedy, but they had pratfalls—and that was sufficient.
Ancient Civilisations: Jokes in Stone
- Egyptians: Ancient Egyptians also chiselled funny moments into walls, with animals behaving like people. They are probably early comic strips–cat material pre-Internet. Even some of the hieroglyphs suggest sarcasm and satire. Obviously, they did more than construct pyramids; they constructed punchlines.
- Greeks: The Greeks were dramatic, philosophical, and extremely sarcastic. There was a playwright by the name of Aristophanes who ridiculed politicians, philosophers, and even the gods. One of his plays is called Lysistrata, where women organise a "romantic strike" to end a war. Ancient comedy with a dash of politics, imagine satire crossed with social protest.
- Romans: The Romans adored political roasts and bathroom humour. Graffiti from Pompeii includes jokes about love, body parts, and flatulence. They even created joke books, proving that terrible puns are at least two thousand years old.
The Middle Ages: Laughing Through the Darkness
The Middle Ages were filled with plagues, wars, and questionable hygiene. You’d think people didn’t have much to laugh about, but humour flourished. Enter the jesters. They were the first professional comedians, commissioned to make royals laugh with jokes, songs, and foolish dances. They sported a special pass to ridicule the king, though one ill-fated joke might still see you in the dungeon. Even in the Black Death, individuals employed humour to deal with it. Plague jokes, as grim as they were, were used to allay general anxiety. It was comedy as medicine, affordable, potent, and not in tablet form.
Shakespeare: The Bard of Banter
William Shakespeare wasn't only a writing mastermind, he was the first king of puns. His plays are full of wordplay, double meanings, and jokes that still get people laughing (even if we don't always catch them immediately). He once penned, "Better a witty fool than a foolish wit." Translation: It's better to be actually funny than to be supposed to be clever and be terrible at it. Shakespeare's comedy spanned all classes of society. He combined high-brow humour with low-brow jokes so the aristocracy and the peanut gallery were equally entertained. He made it okay to be smart and goofy.
The Enlightenment: Intellectual Humour
In the 1700s, society was obsessed with reason, rationality, and powdered wigs. Yet even during this age of rational thought, humour was very much a part of it. Authors such as Jonathan Swift employed satire to convey serious messages. His iconic essay. A Modest Proposal proposed that the poor could end hunger by consuming their offspring. Horrific? Yes. True? Fortunately, no. But it made readers consider inequality in a way that no speech could. Humour was employed as a means to disobey authority, push against convention, and highlight injustice. It wasn't only amusing- it was revolutionary.
The Industrial Revolution: Factory Workers and Funny Papers
As machines replaced workers and cities expanded, humour had a new place to call home: the printed page. Newspapers, joke books, and comic strips were all the rage. Victorian jokes tended to be polite, pun-filled, and just a little bit groan-inducing. For instance: "Why is the letter T like an island? Because it's in the middle of water." D the corniness, the jokes served as relief for trapped workers in endless hours and hard conditions. Written laughter made individuals visible—and amused.
The 20th Century: Comedy Enters the Mainstream
The discovery of radio, cinema, and television made comedy go global. Silent movie legends such as Charlie Chaplin brought laughter without the use of a single word. His slapstick comedy tripping down stairs, being hit with pies, and sitting on nails by mistake spoke universally. Stand-up comics came later, who employed words as projectiles. Masters such as Richard Pryor and George Carlin addressed race, class, politics, and daily life with humour sharp enough to slice steel. Television sitcoms brought laughter. Into living rooms. Sitcoms such as I Love Lucy, Friends, and The Office made people laugh at the absurdity of everyday life and perhaps a little more comfortable with their own embarrassing moments.
The Internet Age: Memes and Viral Laughs
Then we come to the digital wilderness of comedy. The internet has made everyone a potential comedian. Jokes travel at the speed of light with social media websites like Twitter, Instagram. A clever meme is viewed by millions. Contemporary humour is quick, bizarre, and extremely relatable. We laugh at:
The ridiculousness of contemporary workplace life, Dating catastrophes, Businessmen-dressed dogs, and Existential anxiety in cartoon format.
Memes are the contemporary equivalent of ancient graffiti: brief, stinging, and curiously profound. Comedy is no longer the preserve of stage or page—it's in your pocket, 24/7.
Why Laughter Matters More Than Ever
Just in case you were wondering: is humour really that vital? Yes, it is. Here's why: It unites us. Whether you differ on politics, pineapple on pizza, or toilet paper hanging, a laugh shared creates unity.
It keeps us alive. Laughter reduces stress, strengthens your immune system, and makes life's craziness a little more bearable.
It informs and inspires. The greatest humour doesn't only make you laugh—it makes you think. Satire has altered opinions, overthrown rulers, and initiated dialogue. And most importantly, it makes us human. There isn't another species hanging out and sharing knock-knock jokes. Laughter is fundamentally human and wonderfully odd.
So, what did we learn?
Humour isn't a sideshow in the history of civilisation, it's the secret ingredient. It united cavemen, stabilised empires, powered revolutions, and provided us with cat videos that could stop wars. They went from being carved into rocks to trending on Twitter. Jokes have accompanied us every step of the way. They've helped us deal with fear, mark joy, and get through Mondays. So next time you hear a terrible pun, don't groan, smile. That joke is part of a tradition older than the pyramids. And if laughter built the world, perhaps it can save it too. There is a reason we say laughter is the best medicine. So now go share a joke, laugh, and perpetuate the tradition. History counts on it!!