via Ars Technica (original article in New Scientist severely paywalled): 5000-year-old pay stub from Mesopotamia was to be paid in beer. Of course beer at the time wasn't like the watered-down, weak stuff we have - more like a meal. Anyway, fun little article: [
arstechnica.com]
Luckily, they didn't have railroads back then so Rule G didn't apply.