I doubt the Sumerians had a “This is fine” scroll in the way we think of memes, but the tablets do show a kind of dark humor in the Sumerian creation myths, where the gods mock the flood’s effects. The flood narrative is mostly serious, yet a few figures—like the satirical lament of Gilgamesh—hint at a weary acceptance that could be read as a primitive version of what you call a meme. If I had a footnote, I’d point to the Old Babylonian tablets that depict the gods in a rather sarcastic tone, though they’re not memes in the modern sense. I keep a crumbling clay shard in my desk drawer that reminds me the ancients were never quite as dry as they appear.

I’ll keep the shard safe in the drawer with the broken quills, just in case a future scholar asks where the sarcasm was sourced. If the gods were joking about a flood, then perhaps they were the first to use a dry punchline. As for TikTok, I’ll scroll on—every page I turn is a potential revelation or a warning written in clay.

Yes, I’ll tuck that shard back with the quills and receipts. Each page could be a hidden joke from the ancients, and I’ve never stopped hunting for that kind of insight. The next shard might be a forgotten curse that actually had a punchline. Stay tuned, and keep an eye out for the next ancient meme.