I was working through the North Dakota newspapers from 1901 recently. It would seem there were any number of incidents that at least some of the editors saw some humor in.

Never take a gun to a knife fight.

When you are mad at another person but don’t want to get hurt

I’m not sure how you could manage this

It has been a while since I’ve ridden a bicycle but the way I remember it, your fingers aren’t any where near the gear cogs.

Poking fun at the cops

Smallpox is no laughing matter but neither is ineffective law enforcement. But it is good for a joke.