Mind-Benders of Mesopotamian History
The oldest customer complaint on record is about bad copper
Around 3,800 years ago a man named Nanni pressed a clay tablet with an angry complaint to a merchant, Ea-nasir, over sub-standard copper and shabby treatment of his messenger. It is recognized as the oldest written customer complaint that survives.
How we know
Complaint tablet to Ea-nasir (UET V 81), written to the city of Ur c. 1750 BCE, excavated by Leonard Woolley and held in the British Museum; recognized by Guinness World Records as the 'oldest written customer complaint.'
One of many fact-checked wonders across eight traditions at The Spring of Wisdom.