In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
Q: Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| At the time the tablet was written, more than 3,500 years ago, Babylon (shown here as seen in 1932) Babylon was one of the most important cities in southern Mesopotamia, controlling an empire in the region. It's possible the writer of the tablet's riddles lived within this kingdom. The tablet's current location is unknown. 
  
 Millennia before modern-day Americans made fun of their politicians or cracked crude jokes over a cold one, people in ancient Mesopotamia were doing much the same thing. 
  
 The evidence of sex, politics and beer-drinking comes from a newly translated tablet, dating back more than 3,500 years, which reveals a series of riddles. 
  
 The text is fragmentary in parts and appears to have been written by an inexperienced hand, possibly a student. The researchers aren't sure where the tablet originates, though they suspect its scribe lived in the southern part of Mesopotamia, near the Persian Gulf. 
  
 The translation, by Nathan Wasserman, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Institute of Archaeology, and Michael Streck, a professor with the Altorientalisches Institut at Universität Leipzig, is detailed in the most recent edition of the journal Iraq. [In Photos: Ancient Riddles Decoded] 
  
 Rare riddles 
  
 The text was written in Akkadian, using cuneiform script. It was a language commonly used by the Babylonians, along with other ancient kingdoms in the Middle East. 
  
 "This is a relatively rare genre — we don't have many riddles," Wasserman told LiveScience in an interview, referring to riddles written in the Akkadian language. 
  
 Unfortunately, researchers are not certain where the tablet is presently located. In 1976, it was housed in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. At that time, a scholar named J.J. van Dijk published a copy of the Akkadian inscription, which the researchers used for their translation. 
  
 Since 1976, Iraq has been through three wars and, during the 2003 invasion, the museum was pillaged. "We tried to figure out where the tablet is now, [but] I don't know," Wasserman said. He added that the tablet is small and not very impressive-looking, something that a looter may take a pass on, "I very much hope that it is still there," Wasserman said. [10 Battles for the Control of Iraq] 
  
 Political humor 
  
 Some of the decoded riddles are crude and sexual, while others are complex and metaphorical. One of them reveals what appears to be a bit of political humor, albeit with a dark, violent twist. 
  
 He gouged out the eye: 
  
 It is not the fate of a dead man. 
  
 He cut the throat: A dead man (-Who is it?) 
  
 The answer is a governor. 
  
 "This riddle describes the power of a governor namely to act as a judge who punishes or sentences to death," write Streck and Wasserman in the journal article. 
  
 Wasserman has seen examples in other Akkadian texts of people criticizing their leaders. "We have some interesting traces of political criticism, and [I] might say even say political anger," he said. "It could be a kind of political humor expressed in this governor riddle." 
  
 While the governor riddle reflects a sort of gallows' humor, others are much lighter. 
  
 In(?) your mouth and your teeth (or: your urine) 
  
 constantly stared at you 
  
 the measuring vessel of your lord (-What is it?) 
  
 The answer, it appears, is beer. 
  
 Crude and lewd 
  
 Politics and beer were not the only things the scribe commented on. Two of the riddles, now in a fragmentary state, are sexual, crude and difficult to understand. 
  
 One of them, whose translation is uncertain, reads: 
  
 The deflowered (girl) did not become pregnant 
  
 The undeflowered (girl) became pregnant (-What is it?) 
  
 The answer, strangely enough, appears to be "auxiliary forces," a group of soldiers that tend not to be reliable. 
  
 Wasserman said that the meaning of this riddle eludes him. "I don't understand what is really going on," he said, adding that auxiliary forces are often below-average soldiers, "and they are not really trustworthy, sometimes they run away in the middle of the battle." 
  
 Another riddle, this one even more fragmentary and whose translation is uncertain, is also very crude. 
  
 ... of your mother 
  
 is by the one who has intercourse (with her) (-What/who is it?) 
  
 The researchers aren't sure of the riddle's solution since the answer has been lost. 
  
 Ancient metaphor 
  
 One of the riddles appears to rely on metaphor to get its point across. 
  
 The tower is high 
  
 it is high, but nonetheless has no shade (- What is it?) 
  
 The answer is sunlight. 
  
 "You have to think about the riddle like the 'Lord of the Rings' or 'The Hobbit'; it is metaphor," Wasserman said. Imagine you are outside and see a beam of light going from sky to Earth. [Science Fact or Fantasy? 20 Imaginary Worlds] 
  
 "It looks like a tower, but it gives no shade, of course, because it's light itself,” Wasserman said. "The answer is the proof for its own validity." 
  
 The last riddle relies on logic: 
  
 (Note the translation of the first line is uncertain) 
  
 Like a fish in a fish pond 
  
 Like troops before the king (-What is it?) 
  
 The answer is a broken bow. 
  
  
  
 Archery was widely used in the ancient world for both warfare and hunting. If your bow was broken you would be able to do neither. Credit: steve estvanik shutterstock 
  
 Archery was widely used in the ancient world for both warfare and hunting. If your bow was broken you would be able to do neither. 
  
 shutterstock CREDIT: steve estvanik Archery was widely used in the ancient world for both warfare and hunting. If your bow was broken you would be able to do neither. 
  
 Archery was widely used in the ancient world for both warfare and hunting. If your bow was broken you would be able to do neither. 
  
 shutterstock CREDIT: steve estvanik Archery was widely used in the ancient world for both warfare and hunting. If your bow was broken you would be able to do neither. 
  
 Here's why that solution makes sense: Soldiers in front of their king are soldiers that are not out fighting or guarding the kingdom. Also "a fish in a fish pond is not really helpful if you are hungry," Wasserman said. A broken bow is useless as well, "a broken bow is not really helpful if you need to go to war or to hunt a deer." 
  
 The researchers emphasized in their paper that the number of surviving Akkadian riddles from this time period is "very small" and, overall, this tablet provides a rare opportunity to explore this genre of ancient writing. 
  
 Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook. ||||| Around 1,500 BCE, a student in ancient Babylon inscribed six riddles on a tablet. 3,500 years later, these proto-jokes lose a lot in the translation, but one thing's for sure: the Babylonians are saying something about your mother. 
  
 The tablet in question was first discovered back in 1976 by an archaeologist named J.J. van Dijk during excavations in present-day Iraq. Sadly, the tablet itself has since disappeared, but van Dijk left behind a copy of what the tablet had to say, as well as the delightfully pissy assertion that the tablet featured "very careless writing" and so was obviously the work of a student. 
  
 The tablet features a half-dozen riddles, which researchers Nathan Wasserman and Michael Streck recently analyzed for the journal Iraq. Though they call the tablet an example of "wisdom literature," meaning these the riddles were metaphors meant to impart pithy little truths. And while there's definitely an aspect of that, at least a few of the riddles sound like some very early stabs at comedy. Take this one for example: 
  
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 In your mouth and your teeth, constantly stared at you, the measuring vessel of your lord. What is it? Beer. 
  
 Would it make that riddle any funnier if I told you an alternate translation for "your teeth" is "your urine"? Maybe not. Well, how about this bawdy joke about deflowered women? 
  
 The deflowered girl did not become pregnant. The undeflowered girl became pregnant. What is it? Auxiliary forces. 
  
 Admittedly, that one is a bit conceptual. It's also possible that we've discovered the ancient Babylonian answer to Andy Kaufman. Either way, I want to see "auxiliary forces" as everybody's go-to punchline starting...NOW. Next up, a cutting bit of political humor: 
  
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 He gouged out the eye. It is not the fate of a dead man. He cut the throat: A dead man. Who is it? A governor. 
  
 The translation across 35 centuries does the riddle no favors, but to be fair - I can at least see how that has the structure of something we might call a joke, in that it describes the punitive powers of a governor in less than flattering terms. But enough with these warm-up acts - let's get to the headliner, the ancient Babylonian "yo mama" joke. Here it is...or what's left of it, anyway: 
  
 ...of your mother is by the one who has intercourse with her. What/who is it? [No answer] 
  
 Yes, tragically, this no doubt devastating takedown of somebody's mother's sexual proclivities has been lost to history. Though I do appreciate Wasserman and Streck leaving it ambiguous whether the word is "who" or "what" the mother is having sex with - even in ancient Babylon, you just can't rule anything out when talking about one's mother. Or perhaps the original answer wasn't lost at all, and maybe the whole point is that nothing human or otherwise would ever deign to have ancient Babylonian sex with this poor unfortunate's mother. We may never know, but I feel confident saying this is the single most important question facing modern archaeology. 
  
 Incidentally, the oldest known joke is - and it makes me very proud of humanity to be able to say this - a fart joke. Here's a 3,900 year old zinger from Sumer: 
  
 "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial - a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap." 
  
 Well, it's certainly about farts, although I suppose the "joke" bit is debatable. Then again, I shudder to think what people are going to make of what we considered comedy in the year 5,500. Except Parks and Recreation, of course - the brilliance of Ron Swanson transcends all known boundaries of space and time. 
  
 Iraq via Discoblog. ||||| 3500 years ago, a student in Babylon did the inevitable and carved jokes about "beer," "intercourse," and "your mother" into a tablet. Now researchers have done the inevitable and published an elevated dissection of said jokes in a reputable journal. In recognition of the great future minds who will a millenia from now ponder "Two And A Half Men," let's give due attention to this tablet, shall we? It's pretty awesome. 
  
 Discovered by the archaeologist J.J. van Dijk in 1976, the tablet has since been lost without a trace, like so many single socks. Fortunately van Dijk left images behind, which researchers Michael Streck and Nathan Wasserman were able to analyze in a recent paper for the journal Iraq. Streck and Wasserman call the 6 riddles within "wisdom literature," or aphorisms, but the structure of them isn't far off from our modern-day jokes. Due to the tablet's less-than-perfect state, the translations are a little patchy. Still, behold, an alcohol reference: 
  
 In your mouth and your teeth, constantly stared at you, the measuring vessel of your lord. 
  
 (-What is it?) Beer. 
  
 True, it's not what you'd call a knee-slapper, but "your teeth," according to Streck and Wasserman, could also be read as "your urine." And everyone knows "urine" is "funny." Moving on, a twosome concerning those twin foci of late-night talk show hosts: sex and politics. Number one: 
  
 The deflowered (girl) did not become pregnant. 
  
 The undeflowered (girl) became pregnant (-What is it?) Auxiliary forces. 
  
 This one is "unclear," according to Streck and Wasserman. We call it "surrealist.' 
  
 And: 
  
 He gouged out the eye: 
  
 It is not the fate of a dead man. 
  
 He cut the throat: A dead man (-Who is it?) The governor. 
  
 This is apparently a reference to a Bayblonian governor's power to sentence people to death, according to Streck and W. In the comedy world, "speaking truth to power" commentary is often more direct than clever (see Louis CK's tweets about Sarah Palin), so...perhaps this is the Babylonian equivalent of a "Politically Incorrect" intro? Finally, we come to the jewel in the crown, a joke that foreshadows the greatest MTV show to star Wilmer Valderamma. Say hello to "Yo' Mama: The Streets Of Babylon." 
  
 ...of your mother is by the one who has intercourse with her. What/who is it? [No answer] 
  
 "Your mother"? "Intercourse"? If this isn't a precursor to the greatest take-down since McCarthy's "You know how I know you're a communist?" series, we'll eat our most ancient hat. Thank you Babylonian school system, for requiring your students to perform very important joke documentation for future generations. 
  
 [via i09, Discover] |||||
A: 
At 3,500 years old, researchers may have deciphered the world's most ancient "yo mama" joke. Using images of a tablet discovered in 1976 but since lost, the pair dissected a series of jokes carved by a Babylonian student thousands of years ago, and their conclusions, originally published in the journal Iraq, have been getting some attention. The tablet contains six riddles that the researchers call "wisdom literature," but the Huffington Post notes that the aphorisms aren't too different from today's frat party jokes. One refers to alcohol: "In your mouth and your teeth, constantly stared at you, the measuring vessel of your lord. -What is it? Beer." And while it may not be that funny to you, the researchers note that "your teeth" could also be interpreted as "your urine." The aforementioned "yo mama" joke is, unfortunately, a piecemeal translation: "...of your mother is by the one who has intercourse with her. What/who is it? [No answer]." Writing for io9, Alasdair Wilkins notes, with appreciation, the researchers' decision to leave "it ambiguous whether the word is 'who' or 'what' the mother is having sex with—even in ancient Babylon, you just can't rule anything out when talking about one's mother."