Pregnancy tests are never enjoyable to need, and they are almost never utilized for anything other than worry. This issue dates all the way back to Ancient Egypt. We’ve experienced this issue forever. Pregnancy tests were not only available to and used by Ancient Egyptian women, but they were also more comprehensive than modern pregnancy tests in that they predicted the baby’s gender at birth and were very accurate for the time (70 percent, which is really not bad at all). Even though they employed the same technique as we do today—having the lady provide a urine sample—the Ancient Egyptians did. Over 3500 years ago, we discovered that urine samples were directly related to fertility, and we still use this information today.
So how did ancient Egyptian pregnancy tests work so well, and how did they also, to a certain extent, identify the baby’s given sex? The procedure involved peeing in bags of barley and emmer wheat, so it’s not exactly like they were peeing on sticks and getting answers for “yes” or “no.” If each bag sprouted any seedlings, the woman was definitely pregnant, according to their science, which was 70% correct, according to The National Institute of Health. They weren’t precisely relying on hormone-based outcomes, though.
Any sprout from either bag indicated pregnancy, but depending on which sprouted first, you could determine whether the baby would be a boy or a girl. At birth, the baby’s gender would be determined by whether the barley or the emmer wheat sprouted first. If the emmer wheat sprouted first, the baby would be a girl.
Because replication-based tests are more common today, historians tend to view the test as not being very accurate. Barley and emmer wheat aren’t exactly reliable indicators of a child’s gender. But that is with the biology of modern women. Our biology has altered, mutated, evolved, and complied as necessary throughout time. The barley vs. emmer wheat test is a good illustration. This test may have been significantly more accurate when it was regularly used because estrogen levels in ancient Egypt and among women in general were substantially higher.
If the society had persisted in its original enthusiasm, it is impossible to know what discoveries their science may or may not have made at that time, but even then, this was simply the best they had at the moment. After all, they did develop astrology.
According to one article that cited research by Sofie Schidt, Ph.D., “Many of the ideas in the medical texts from ancient Egypt appear again in later Greek and Roman texts… From here, they spread further to the medieval medical texts in the Middle East, and you can find traces all the way up to premodern medicine.”
There is currently no known reproducible association between these two, despite the fact that pregnant women release a wide variety of hormones throughout their pregnancies that would trigger early flowering in some plants.
One theory as to why this test was so tried and true in the papyrus that was read to unravel these puzzles is heightened estrogen levels in ancient Egyptian women.
The fact that infant mortality rates were quite high in Egypt as well as the rest of the world may not come as a surprise. They tried their best to keep the infant well-fed throughout infancy and breastfed their children, especially in such unsanitary surroundings, when infant immunity is decreased after weaning, according the University of Chicago.
One study described how “piss prophets” (which is their genuine name) would diagnose pregnancies based on pee, sometimes mixing it with wine to see if there was a reaction. This practice led to the popular notion that urine was directly related to fertility in the medieval ages. They would also soak a ribbon in a woman’s urine, burn it, make her smell it, and if she gagged, she was most definitely pregnant. Things got weird in the Middle Ages.
To put it another way, young Egyptian children under the age of five essentially had to run a gauntlet of survival until they turned five, or around that time. After that, they were supposed to live long lives of up to 33 years old, and 29 if they were female. In light of the fact that many ancient Egyptian cemeteries had a childhood mortality rate peak at “about age 4,” which is roughly around when ancient Egyptians started weaning (weakening their immune systems to get ready to consume solid food), “indirect evidence” comes from the University of Chicago.
It goes without saying that they did a lot of their thinking right, and the fact that there are so few ancient Egyptian texts that mention this just highlights how much more there is to learn about Ancient Egypt in general. This ancient Egyptian pregnancy test even made its way over to Greece and even modern and, to some extent, medieval medicine.
Furthermore, in terms of urban legends, it’s not like we are exempt from them in this case. Ours include beloved classics like the notion that a woman who consumes a lot of sweets, garlic, or has acne will give birth to a girl, as well as notions that a male will be born if she has a healthy glow and dilated pupils.
Why This Belgian Bar Makes You Trade Your Shoe for a Beer
To prevent tourists from stealing their beer glasses, some bars in Belgium require people to hand over one of their shoes as a deposit which is then put in a basket and hung from the ceiling. These shoe baskets have also become an attraction.
The 1814 London beer flood
In 1814, there was a beer flood in London when a tank containing more than 300,000 gallons ruptured in which 8 people drowned.
History of Treadmill, punishment for prisoners
Treadmills were originally a punishment used to harness human power on a giant wheel used to grind grains, hence the name "treadmill." The History of Treadmill
Marion Stokes recorded 30 years of television
Marion Stokes, a Philadelphia woman began taping whatever was on television in 1979 and didn’t stop until her death in 2012. The 71,000 VHS and Betamax tapes she made are the most complete collection preserving this era of TV. They are being digitized by the Internet Archive.
The unbroken seal on King Tutankhamun's tomb until 1922
The unbroken seal of Tutankhamun's tomb before it was opened in 1923, it was unbroken for over 3000 years.
The Baltic Way: the longest unbroken human chain in history
On August 23, 1989, about 2 million people from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania formed a human chain that united all 3 countries to show the world their desire to escape the Soviet Union and the communism that brought only suffering and poverty. This power stretched 600 km.
1972 Andes Plane Crash Survivor recall the terrifying Struggles to Stay Alive
On October 13, 1972, a plane carrying a rugby team from Uruguay crashed in the Andes between Chile and Argentina. The survivors were in brutal conditions - high altitude, bitter cold, and the lack of food—and faced the most terrible choice—eating the frozen flesh of their dead friends or starving to death themselves.
Nathan's Famous Doctor Stunt
When Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs first opened in 1916, the owner hired people to dress as doctors and eat hot dogs outside his shop, to convince people his hot dogs were healthy.
Terry Fox, a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 143 days before dying
Terry Fox was a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 3,339 miles across Canada in 143 days before dying.
The touching story of David Vetter (bubble boy), the 'boy who lived in a bubble
David Vetter lived his whole 12 years in sterile “bubble”. He was “outside” for 20 second after being removed from his mother’s womb. He never touched any human.
Inside China’s Footbinding Tradition: The Painful Ritual of Lotus Shoes and Bound Feet
In China, Lotus shoes were used to bind women's feet to keep their feet small
Jack the Baboon operated a railroad, earned a living, and never made a mistake
A baboon worked as a signalman for the railroad in the late 1800s. He never made a mistake and worked for the railroad until the day he died.
Atomic Tourism: In the 1950s, nuclear tests in Las Vegas served as a draw for tourists
Between 1950 and 1960, Las Vegas offered “Atomic Tourism” in which guests could watch atomic bombs being tested in the desert as a form of entertainment.
Sylvan Goldman: The Visionary Who Revolutionized Shopping with the Cart
The inventor of shopping carts, Sylvan Goldman, had to hire several male and female models to push carts around in his store, demonstrate their utility, and explain their use to other customers, due to not catching on initially.
D.B. Cooper: Man who hijacked a plane and jumped out with a $200,000
On November 22, 1971, DB Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727, drank a whisky, smoked a fag, and then jumped out of the plane with $200,000. He was never again seen.
Mother who spent entire life savings for daughter’s cancer treatment won the lottery
A mother won $2 million from a $10 scratch-off lottery ticket after she spent all of her entire life savings to pay her daughter’s cancer treatment. She bought the winning ticket after her daughter’s last cancer treatment.
Poto And Cabengo: The Secret Language Of Twins
Poto and Cabengo, as the two girls called each other, communicated in their own language. The twins were ignored by their parents and secluded from the outside world because their father felt they were developmentally retarded, and their unique language evolved as a result of that neglect.
Remembering the miracles of the 1985 Mexico earthquake (unbelievable stories)
In 1985, after an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico City, nearly all newborn babies survived a collapsed hospital. They are known as “Miracle Babies” for surviving 7 days without nourishment, water, warmth or human contact.
story of the youngest mother in the world at age of five - Lina Medina
Lina Medina, a five-year-old Peruvian girl, became the youngest mother in history in 1939 when she gave birth to a boy.
June and Jennifer Gibbons The silent twin who Only Spoke to Each Other
Identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons were born on 11 April 1963 at a military hospital in Aden, Yemen where their father worked as part of the Royal Air Force.
Man's Blood Helped Save Millions of Babies
Australian blood donor James Harrison has been one of our most impressive and valued donors, having donated for 60 years. Know his story, how he was a pioneer of our Anti-D program, and why this matters.
Philippines, the largest supplier of Nurses in the World
Philippines is the world’s largest supplier of nurses, supplying roughly 25% of all overseas nurses worldwide.
The true story of Josephine Myrtle Corbin, the lady born with four legs and two private parts
Josephine Myrtle Corbin, an American sideshow performer born in 1868, had a rare condition known as dipygus, which caused her to have four legs, each smaller inner leg paired with one of her outer legs. Corbin joined the sideshow circuit, captivating audiences as the "Four-Legged Girl from Texas."
The History Behind the “No One Dies Alone” Program
In 1986, while doing a night shift at the hospital, Sandra Clarke, a registered nurse, was asked by an elderly patient to stay. She promised to be back after checking on her other patients, but by the time she returned, the gentleman had passed away. Clarke became one of the key figures in launching No One Dies Alone, a program that allows volunteers to sit with terminal patients who have no one else.
Iranian inmate dies from happiness after finding out he will not be executed
An Iranian man who was convicted of murder reportedly died from happiness after learning that his death sentence was being commuted.
