The following history of the yo mamma joke is told by my old high school history teacher in an interview:

“Yo mamma jokes have been around since Babylonian times.  The earliest record we have of yo mamma jokes comes from an ancient Babylonian tablet which reads ‘..of your mother is by the one who has intercourse with her. What/who is it?’ Although this joke does not make total since in today’s context of the joke, as a riddle the phrase makes more sense.

Yo mamma jokes were used throughout history by intellectuals such as shakespeare who used the joke in his play ‘Titus Andronicus’ when he writes:

‘Demetrius: “Villain, what hast thou done?”

Aaron: “That which thou canst not undo.”

Chiron: “Thou hast undone our mother.”

Aaron: “Villain, I have done thy mother.”’

Even in ancient times, people were digging jabs at each others mothers as a form of comedy.  The joke later evolved to fit the big screen as it was featured in movies such as the Monty Python  and began its transition into mainstream popular culture.  In later years, yo mamma jokes have been featured on many television shows and movies such as South Park, various Adam Sandler movies, and classics like Remember the Titans and Mean Girls.  Here are some other examples of modern day yo mamma jokes:

Yo momma is so fat, I took a picture of her last Christmas and it’s still printing.

Yo momma is so stupid when an intruder broke into her house, she ran downstairs, dialed 9-1-1 on the microwave, and couldn’t find the “CALL” button.

Yo momma is so fat when she went to KFC the cashier asked, “What size bucket?” and yo momma said, “The one on the roof.””

Analysis:  Although the form in which the yo mamma joke is delivered has changed overtime evolving from a riddle to a joke, the main themes of the joke have remained constant.  The themes of the jokes include but are not limited to weight, intelligence, and beauty.  Other common themes are yo mamma jokes about other people having sexual intercourse with one’s mother.  The yo mamma joke is still prevalent today but not as much as it once was in the early 2000.  This is a very interesting piece of folklore because it is not limited to geographical boundaries.  Overtime, the whole world has learned and created their own variation of yo momma jokes while still maintaining the same themes.

So like, there’s two olives on the table. And one rolled off the table. And the other olive rolled closer to the table and said, “Are you okay?” and the other olive said, “Olive!” (pronounced like “I’ll live”).

She was told this joke by her dad, who she believes heard it told to him when he was younger.

This is a cute wordplay joke that I think I’ve heard before.

The following is from an interview between me and my friend, Nicole, at Blaze Pizza. Nicole is a Catholic missionary from the Phillipines. We were joined, as well, by another missionary named Carlos. Nicole shared with me a Filipino joke.

Nicole: “Why did the priest stop eating salt?”

Me: “Why?”

Nicole: “Because it was asin. ‘Asin’ means ‘salt’.”

Me: “In– In what language?”

Nicole: “Tagalog.”

Me: “Is that, like, from the Phillipines?”

Nicole: (nods)

Me: “Okay, that’s awesome. And where did you hear that from?”

Nicole: “From my… dad.”

Me: “Okay, did he tell it often, or…?”

Nicole: “Um… it was said among my friends, too.”

Me: “Oh, really? Like, around what age?”

Nicole: “Um… probably middle school…. (Laughs) that’s it.”

I really think this joke took full advantage of the Filipino-English pun potential and struck some serious gold.