In ancient Egypt, lettuce was seen as something far more powerful than the main ingredient of a salad. It was a symbol of Min, the god of fertility, as far back as 2700 BCE.
Because of its apparent phallic shape, it was used to venerate the god and inspire male virility and fertility. It was also eaten as an aphrodisiac to inspire sexual desire. When Min is depicted in hieroglyphics, he’s always surrounded by lettuce.
A Gay Couple Owned A Royal Nail Salon For The Pharaoh
It’s hard to believe that two men who co-owned a royal nail salon were a famous and accepted couple in ancient Egypt, but it’s true.
Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum were confidants and manicurists of the Pharaoh Nyuserre Ini, so much so that they were buried in an expensive royal tomb funded by him. They were laid to rest face-to-face, which was the standard for married couples, with the inscription “Joined in Life and Joined in Death.” Many Egyptologists theorize that they may have been brothers as well as lovers.
Women Peed On Barley Seeds To See If They Were Pregnant
While they didn't exactly pee on a stick to find out they were pregnant, ancient Egyptian women did use their urine to find out if they had a baby on the way. A woman would pee on barley seeds on the ground, and supposedly if the seeds sprouted quickly, the woman was pregnant.
Even weirder, when the scientists of the National Institute of Health reproduced this test in modern times, it had a 70% accuracy rate. A pregnant woman’s urine has a unique mixture of hormones that may provide an explanation of the accurate results. The chemicals in the urine may promote faster growth of the barley seeds when compared to barley seeds with just water poured on them.
Magicians Lured Demons Out Of Possessed People With Dung
Magic was prevalent in ancient Egypt, with special priests and scorpion charmers serving their communities with magical rituals and practices. They had carved wands of ivory and spellbooks that were passed around communities of magicians.
It also turns out that crocodile dung had many uses. The ancient Egyptians believed that demons were drawn to all things terrible, including terrible smells. This led them to believe that they could lure a demon out of a possessed person with feces from crocodiles or other animals. On the other hand, de