Complaint Tablet to Ea-nasir / meme.

Complaint Tablet to Ea-nasir

PROTIP: Press 'i' to view the image gallery, 'v' to view the video gallery, or 'r' to view a random entry.

Related Explainer: Who Is 'Ea-Nasir' And Why Are People Complaining About His Copper? The Viral 'Complaint Tablet' Meme Explained

About

The Complaint Tablet to Ea-nasir is an ancient Babylonian clay tablet dating back to 1750 BC inscribed by customer Nanni to merchant Ea-nasir, complaining about Ea-nasir selling him sub-par copper, a practice Ea-nasir was known for. The tablet is known as the first complaint ever and has been the subject of niche memes since at least 2017, particularly on Tumblr, Reddit, and 4chan. Ea-nasir memes occasionally crossover with Soomer posts.

Origin

In 1953, explorer Sir Leonard Woolley discovered and acquired the tablet from what is believed to be the ruins of Ea-nasir's home while on an expedition to the city of Ur.[1] Several other similar tablets complaining about poor copper quality were also recovered, suggesting Ea-nasir frequently sent his customers poor-quality goods.[2] The tablet is currently held at the British Museum.

On February 25th, 2015, Redditor u/tbc34 posted an image to /r/pics[3] of the tablet on display at the museum with its plaque clearly visible, reading, "Complaint about delivery of the wrong grade of copper" under the title, "1750 BC problems" (shown below, left). The post gained over 44,700 upvotes, leaving many wanting to know more about it (paper drawing of the tablet shown below, right).


co the Ningal essful trading rsian Gulf mian period) Complaint about delivery of the wrong grade of copper About 1750 BC (Old Babylonian period), from Ur ME 131236 81. U. 16814 a. Obv. 一一可 5 版 T个 10 |精 签起西码 命 |耳然 15 |中 發 做 201- 時过买赵全 ト爷 及 佐 否帘赵作 Rev. R EA月 25 |科 签冷政 桑 年年 陵 斗 30 可 路 |市 祥 35《 双料阿 国為 f 学 40 等 下 「笼梦座玉伊 適 公 45国 均 斯 时天险 料 数 码 Left 岛签下研E羊书 edge

On that day, Redditor[4] u/labarna commented a translation of the tablet under the post, taken from the 1967 book Letters from Mesopotamia[5]. The translation reads:

Tell Ea-nasir: Nanni sends the following message:

When you came, you said to me as follows : "I will give Gimil-Sin (when he comes) fine quality copper ingots." You left then but you did not do what you promised me. You put ingots which were not good before my messenger (Sit-Sin) and said: "If you want to take them, take them; if you do not want to take them, go away!"

What do you take me for, that you treat somebody like me with such contempt? I have sent as messengers gentlemen like ourselves to collect the bag with my money (deposited with you) but you have treated me with contempt by sending them back to me empty-handed several times, and that through enemy territory. Is there anyone among the merchants who trade with Telmun who has treated me in this way? You alone treat my messenger with contempt! On account of that one (trifling) mina of silver which I owe(?) you, you feel free to speak in such a way, while I have given to the palace on your behalf 1,080 pounds of copper, and umi-abum has likewise given 1,080 pounds of copper, apart from what we both have had written on a sealed tablet to be kept in the temple of Samas.

How have you treated me for that copper? You have withheld my money bag from me in enemy territory; it is now up to you to restore (my money) to me in full.

Take cognizance that (from now on) I will not accept here any copper from you that is not of fine quality. I shall (from now on) select and take the ingots individually in my own yard, and I shall exercise against you my right of rejection because you have treated me with contempt.

On the same day u/tbc34 posted the tablet to Reddit, Tumblr[6] user tastefullyoffensive posted the same image with the caption, "Babylonian era problems" crediting the Redditor. The post went viral, gaining over 587,000 notes in six years.

On March 22nd, Imgur[7] user Mesomerry uploaded a series of screenshots showing a string of notes associated with the Tumblr post in which users discuss Ea-nasir and his infamy for being a con-artist, garnering over 10,500 views in six years (shown below). Versions of the screenshot were reposted a number of times over the following years, with numerous uploads going viral.[8][9][10]


thesparkofrevolution: blacktyranitar: thesparkofrevolution: jakovu: dama3: tastefullyoffensive: Babylonian era problems. (photo via tbc34) old school hate mail Imagine how p----- you have to be to engrave a rock Ok but there was this guy called Ea-nasir who was a total crook and would actually cheat people ought of good copper and sell them s--- instead. The amount of correspondences complaining to and about this guy are HILARIOUS. Are you telling me we know about a specific guy who lived 5000 years ago, by name, because he was a huge a------ More like 4000 years ago but yes. Ea-nasir and his dodgy business deals. Source: tastefullyoffen...

Spread

On April 30th, 2017, the Facebook[11] page "Complaint Tablet to Ea-Nasir Memes for Teens Who Are Not of Good Quality" was opened, dedicated specifically to memes about the tablet. They posted their first meme that day (shown below, left) continuing to post consistently throughout 2021 (additional 2017 examples shown below, center and right).


me: Yo do you want to buy some copper ingots? friend: u better not give me ingots that are not good me: If you want to take them, take them; if you do not want to take them, go away! CAN'T OWN POOR-QUALITY COPPER INGOTS Openim Mon Tut-Thue Fri-Sat IF YOU GO AWAY WITHOUT THE COPPER YOU CAME FOR Sunday imgfip.com The floor is being of fine quality

On March 13th, 2018, Tumblr[12] user probablybadrpgideas posted, "Your players are faced with an ancient Sumerian curse! However, since the early ancient Sumerian language was only used for recording tax debts, it turns out to actually be an ancient Sumerian bill" with the intention of Tumblr users expanding on the scenario. The post gained over 114,000 notes in three years.

On March 22nd, Redditor u/GLAvenger posted a screenshot of the post with a series of notes subtly referencing Ea-nasir and the tablet to /r/tumblr,[13] garnering over 580 upvotes in a comparable span of time (shown below).


mllelaurel harukami Folgen probablybadrpgideas Your players are faced with an ancient Sumerian curse! However, since the early ancient Sumerian language was only used for recording tax debts, it turns out to actually be an ancient Sumerian bill. morkaischosen and therefore they need to get hold of some ancient Sumerian coinage and bring it to the ruins of the ancient Sumerian tax office, because the Sumerians had a pleasingly direct way of preventing tax evasion, namely horrifying curses. duckbunny well I don't have any coin but I have these copper ingots, lovely copper ingots, from a very reputable merchant, never heard a word said against him, very thorough with his paperwork, anyway they're guaranteed pure copper and proper weight, so can I pay my tax with those? bunjywunjy I just want everyone to take a step back for a second and really think about how we're using the most powerful knowledge tool in history to make jokes about a specific dude who lived almost 4000 years ago. it's f----- wonderful, is what it is. Text Quelle: probablybadrp... 17.345 Anmerkungen

On December 27th, 2019, Redditor u/Arcaeca posted an Ea-nasir-themed political compass meme to /r/politicalcompass[14] (shown below, left). On October 14th, 2020, Redditor u/vulpineleather then posted a Virgin vs. Chad comic referencing Ea-nasir to /r/virginvschad (shown below, right).


On account of that one trifling mina of silver which I owe you, you feel free to speak in such a way, while I have given to the palace on your behalf 1,080 pounds of copper We both have had written on a sealed tablet to be kept in the temple of Shamash What do you take me for, that you treat somebody like me with such contempt? I have sent as messengers gentlemen like ourselves! If you want to take them, take them; if you do not want to take them, go away! I shall from now on select and take the ingots individually in my own yard, and I shall exercise my right of rejection against you The Virgin Nanni Why the hell does he need so much copper anyway? sends a servant (slave) to do got swindled transactions for him by Ea-Nasir wife and daughter will most likely most gullible leave him merchant for Ea-Nasir in all Babylon wasted a perfectly good clay tablet walked through a writing the worlds war zone to first customer just to get a service complaint refund; got denied The Chad Ea-Nasir "Sorry, no refunds" probably has a full harem Will treat you of wives and your messenger with contempt travels all the way to Persia to buy s----- Keeps all the copper. He then complaint tablets from all his costumers in his house as amusing sells it at ludicrous prices decorations and by overhyping it's quality to assert dominance

Ea-nasir has also received significant attention on 4chan[15][16][17] since the story became popular in 2015, often resulting in debates over whether or not he "did anything wrong" (example shown below).


U Anonymous 03/07/21(Sun)17:49:48 No.10604338 E >>10604661 >>10604708 >>10604782 >>10605277 This Sumerian tablet from the 20th century BC. C. contains what is probably the first written complaint in history, made by a customer who was not satisfied with the service of the store in his city Based Mesopotamia >> Anonymous 03/07/21(Sun)18:36:08 No.10604650 Ea Nasir did NOTHING wrong! O Anonymous 03/07/21(Sun)18:38:04 No.10604661 ► >>10604338 (OP). F--- I love reading about Ancient Mesopotamia You always get this idea that people in ancient history are so different and alien but in reality they were the same people like us who scammed each other for an easy shekel

On March 9th, 2021, a story of a man getting sent painted rocks instead of copper was reported by multiple news sources, including the BBC.[18] On that day, Tumblr[19] user brightwanderer posted a screenshot of the story along with the caption, "….. Ea-Nasir is that YOU" garnering over 23,900 notes in two days (shown below).


brightwanderer Follow Joe Weisenthal @TheStalwart 45m A trader in Turkey bought $36 million worth of copper, but then when it was delivered it turned out to just be rocks painted to look like copper bloomberg.com/news/articles/... ... .. Ea-Nasir is that YOU

Memes about Ea-nasir saw a boost in popularity in late March and early April 2023. On March 29th, 2023, Twitter[20] user @Chinchillazllla posted, "GUY IN 1750 BC: can everyone please stop chiseling tablets complaining about Ea-Nasir, you're just giving him a bigger platform," garnering over 3,300 likes in a week. On April 3rd, xkcd posted a webcomic referencing the story to Twitter,[21] garnering over 12,700 likes in a day (shown below).


RAINDROPS ON ROSES AND WHISKERS ON KITTENS ۱۳ HEY, THESE ARE STONE WITH A COPPER VENEER! paja BRIGHT COPPER KETTLES LEAVE ... FLAKES ON MY MITTENS!? d I'VE BEEN BAMBOOZLED BY EA-NASIR! ✓ 1.3

Various Examples


He protecc He attac But most importantly He send messenger bacc What are the Mario Bros. views on receiving ingots which are not of good quality? Mario says: luigi says These things happen in life. I should move on, and purchase my ingots elsewhere in future. Ifa your ingots are taint, itsa tíme for a complaint! Ea-Nasir *Slaps roof of Car* "This bad boy can fit so much -Fine Quality Copper Ingots- in it." The Akkadian Merchant >Gets low quality copper ingots >Gets insulted by Ea-Nasir > Has to travel through war zones > State thinks he is a smuggler > Owes Ea-Nasir a mina of silver >Wife & Daughter would rather be with Ea-Nasir Things to say that will. always start a fight. V where can i get high quality copper

Search Interest

External References

Recent Videos 15 total

Recent Images 40 total


Top Comments

Squibblyskadew
Squibblyskadew


I've come to make an announcement: Ea-nasir's a bitch-ass motherfucker, he swindeld me out of quality copper. That's right, he took his leprosy-ridden dick out and he pissed on my fucking receipt, and he said his dick was "this big," and I said "that's disgusting," so I'm making a callout post on my family's stone tablet: Ea-nasir, you've got a small dick, It's the size of the sold usable copper except WAY smaller.

+77
Everything is Terrible
Everything is Terrible

Imagine being so bad at what you do that someone takes time out of their day to chisel their frustration with you in stone (thus immortalizing it) only for it to be put on display in a museum centuries later so that everyone knows what a bitch-ass motherfucker you are.

+55

+ Add a Comment

Comments (34)


Display Comments

Add a Comment


O HAI! You must login or signup first!