Why writing was *really* invented:
one of those moments where you absolutely feel the kinship of all human beings every where and at all times https://t.co/4lOwUTe8Jg
— flglmn (@flglmn) August 30, 2021
Some thousands of years from now, (not necessarily human) archaeologists will be painstakingly recreating email messages from mid-level managers of the Greater American Empire complaining about water allocation paperwork in the not-yet-undersea Californiate territories…
Lol this appears repeatedly in the replies apparently so really hitting home on the Universal Experience of “guy watching other stakeholders initiate a slowly unraveling trainwreck”
— The Mall Krampus (@cakotz) August 30, 2021
VeniceRiley
His last submission was incorrectly formatted, prolly.
debbie
Whining since 1684 B.C.
dm
For a good (and thematically related) time, google “Ea-Nasir”
Danielx
Some things really are universal.
dmsilev
Submitting complaint forms in triplicate really sucked back then.
Cermet
Farming in a semi-desert isn’t all its cracked up to be when your fellow humans also have a claim on the water. Shoulda voted for people that believed in climate warming, stupid.
Roger Moore
We all know writing was actually invented by priests so they could keep track of who had delivered their tithe on time.
trollhattan
@dmsilev: “To ensure legibility of third tablet, press REALLY HARD.”
I can’t find any Babylonian recipes calling for sesame seeds, so the water master was probably just giving the old “screw you” to sesame farmer Bob.
debbie
The replies are great, especially this one:
Lacuna Synecdoche
TheAncientWorld via Anne Laurie @ Top:
Narrator: The sesame died.
RSA
Things were so much better before Twitter / cell phones / the Internet / television / radio / telegrams / literacy.
prostratedragon
@dmsilev: The origin of slab-brick construction?
A Ghost to Most
@Cermet: That sounds like the history of Colorado.
“Whiskey’s for drinkin’. Water’s for fightin’over.”
Benw
Did the back to school supplies run today. My youngest moving up to middle school means no more crayons and markers in the cart, unfortunately!
prostratedragon
@debbie: That is just what I thought, imagining someone furiously tapping away on an index card-sized tablet. And then there are the long lags while the things are moved about to give the pot more time to simmer.
BC in Illinois
The eleven most terrifying words in the Akkadian language: “I’m from the Babylon Water Administration, and I’m here to help.”
mrmoshpotato
@trollhattan:
To the point (no pun intended) of literally pounding on it with a chisel!
prostratedragon
@trollhattan: Don’t know the date of the tablet, but they did make tahini in ancient Mesopotamia, so a failed harvest and the water administrator might ultimately have heard from others. “What do you mean, you ‘can’t make any hummus?!'”
Sure Lurkalot
@Roger Moore:
That’s actually somewhat true. Writing was used (even fair to say invented) to keep track of inventory, levies, tribute, etc.
debbie
@prostratedragon:
One of the replies indicates that sesame is very drought tolerant. So maybe the grower was needlessly worried. ??♀️
Baud
I wonder if Ibbi-Ilabrat was like, “Leave me out of this, man. I don’t want no trouble.”
Ten Bears
Some thousands of years from now, cockroach archaeologists will dig down through layers of asphalt, ABS pipe and fiberglass cigarette butts and won’t have any trouble at all figuring out how we chocked in our own flatulence. Don’t know about why …
prostratedragon
@debbie: Yeah, either that or they usually got a little bit of water each season. Trust me on this: a cactus can die of thirst, which is why I prefer pets to plants. I need meowing.
Lacuna Synecdoche
Baud:
“C’mon man. I still owe water taxes from last year and don’t need the attention. Don’t drag me into this. Please. I got my own chickpeas crop to worry about.”
Hoppie
Here in the peoples republic of Hillcrest, Californiate Territory, we will be comfortably above sea level looking out at the new coastline (map 24, but the whole site is, er, thought-provoking.
RandomMonster
One advantage the Babylonians had was if you drunk-cuneiformed a clay tablet last night telling the magistrate to go sit on a ziggurat, you still had all that time waiting for the clay to dry to rethink your response.
Almost Retired
City kid that I am, I didn’t know sesames grow in fields. I guess I just figured they grow on crackers. So I learned something.
CaseyL
I love this kind of thing. It brings the (extreme) past alive.
I could read an entire book consisting entirely of Ancient World translated customer service complaints.
Evil_Paul
I am getting this tablet as a tattoo.
Caphilldcne
@prostratedragon: I too have underwatered a cactus and yes, I never grow indoor potted plants.
Brachiator
@RSA:
Clay tablets back then. Electronic tablets today. An amazing continuity.
SFBayAreaGal
@CaseyL: Me too. I love seeing how the everyday person lived.
Citizen_X
@Lacuna Synecdoche: I am imagining an eight-bit chariot. “YOUR SESAME CROP HAS DIED.”
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
Looks like they’ve been trying to kill Sesame Street longer than I thought
Splitting Image
There’s a cuneiform tablet which got unearthed somewhere in Mesopotamia sent from a student to his mother complaining that the robe she sent him isn’t as nicely made as the robe some other boy’s mother sent him. Ergo, says the student, his mother must not love him as much as the other boy’s mother loves her son. From 1700 BC or so.
Meanwhile, over in Egypt, there are surviving records of a court case in which the mayor of the east half of Thebes sued the mayor of the west half of Thebes for being in cahoots with the grave robbers who were looting the royal tombs (which are all on the west side of the Nile). Also records of pyramid workers going on strike for more beer.
Comrade Colette
@Hoppie: This one is a classic in the same genre. The place names are fun if you’re familiar with San Francisco. My house would be OK-ish, although there might occasionally be a little bit of water in the garage.
Betty
@Almost Retired: I also had no idea how sesame is produced. Huh
Jeffro
Made my night, thanks AL!
Jeffro
@Brachiator: yes. pictures to words and back again to pictures. wheels within wheels ;)
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Markwayne’s whereabouts, according to twitter, are currently unknown.
Another Scott
It’s a day ending in “y”, so, let’s check in on the latest installment of how the GQP is – literally – attempting to obstruct justice.
Thread:
Grr…
Today’s the end of the month, so we’re all getting bombarded with e-mails to support our party and candidates. I know. It’s annoying. But donate if you’re able. We must to vote the monsters out.
Cheers,
Scott.
HumboldtBlue
If you’re looking for some sports the Djokovic v Rune US Open match on ESPN is a lot of fun.
Djokovic is going for the calendar grand slam which hasn’t been done since Rod Laver in ’69 or so. Rune, his opponent is an 18-year-ol Dane and the top junior in the world and he just took the second set 7-6.
John Revolta
“Take a tablet, Davcina: ‘Dear Shadrach- okay, you’ve covered your ass.'”
prostratedragon
@Caphilldcne: A co-worker of my mother’s used to say, “You’re never the only one!”
persistentillusion
@A Ghost to Most: as a Coloradan, I am obliged to call you a low-land water thief. So there!
Miss Bianca
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Wait, WTF?
@CaseyL:
LOL! Me too!
Ken
Hmm, travelling with a large amount of currency in a nation with a recent history of civil war, political corruption, bandit activity, and Islamic separatism, on his way to a much larger example of same. Can’t imagine that anything bad could happen.
Hoppie
@John Revolta
“Gotta start some new rice”?
@John Revolta:
SFAW
“Strong tablet to follow!”
Which, in today’s “real ‘Murican” lingo, means a 700 mg tab of oxycodone.
SFAW
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Maybe he and Tina Peters are hiking the Appalachian Trail?
Feathers
Dead thread, but I’ll post upstairs as well. The Tides Of History podcast is excellent and the current season is about pre-history, AKA before written history. Currently on the first empire in Babylonia! He has been going around the world, how the shift from hunter-gatherers to farmers differed by climate and geography, that “civilization” is very important, but overrated, just fascinating.
He also has a great, soothing radio voice, perfect for unwinding at the end of the day.
Brachiator
@Feathers:
Looks like fun. Thanks.
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
@SFAW: might tajikistan be cover for tahiti, as appalachian covered for argentina?
SFAW
@MontyTheClipArtMongoose:
That information is on a need-to-know basis.
Although I can’t imagine what rational person would have a need to know if Whatshisface is boinking Tina Peters.