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Today we bring you 10 facts about people from history that will completely surprise and amaze you and you’ll be left with nothing else to say
1. Women used lead and sulfur to dye their hair
People have dyed their hair since ancient times, but a lack of knowledge about chemistry and the improper use of unsuitable substances sometimes ended very badly.
The Greeks and Romans used a permanent hair dye that consisted of various chemicals, including sulfur.
2. Glass beads and ground rubber were used as breast implants
Since ancient times women have used various means to enhance their beauty. Breasts were no exception. Some women used homemade “growth creams” to enlarge them. Others, for example, rubbed coconut oil into the skin.
However, the first breast surgery was performed as early as 1895 by Vincenz Czerny. The doctor had to create new breasts for his patient after removing a tumor. Physicians used various materials to enlarge women’s breasts: ivory, glass beads, ground rubber and more.
3. Animal dung used in medicine
It may sound strange, but it’s a fact: people used animal dung to treat various illnesses in the past.
For example, women in ancient Greece believed that crocodile dung could be used as a contraceptive and inserted it into the vagina.
In Scotland, folk healers used sheep droppings to treat smallpox and fresh pig dung was used to stop nosebleeds
4. Doctors drilled holes into human heads to release evil spirits
Doctors have always been very curious about how the human body works and used several “proven” methods of treatment. Trepanation (drilling holes) was one of them. Physicians believed they could cure diseases such as convulsions, headaches and infections.
They thought that various illnesses were caused by an evil spirit imprisoned inside the human head, so they drilled holes to let the spirit out.
5. Women were not allowed to cry at funerals
Regular funerals in ancient Rome began with a procession through the streets. Crying relatives followed this procession. The more people attended the funeral, the more respected the person was.
Sometimes the family paid special women to cry in order to impress the crowd. To make their grief authentic, the women scratched their faces or tore at their hair.
Later this tradition was considered too extreme. And it was forbidden to hire professional mourners.
6. Fathers could legally kill their daughters’ suitors
The father had a very strong influence on the whole family and especially on the lives of his unmarried daughters – he had the right to choose a suitable husband for her. The rules were very strict and the daughter could not have an intimate relationship before marriage.
Therefore the father had the legal right to kill his daughter’s lover (and even her), if he caught them in adultery.
7. In ancient Rome fathers could sell their sons into slavery – but only three times
In ancient Rome there was no room for love. As head of the family the father had absolute power over his wife, children and household.
They were even granted the right to sell their sons into slavery. If the person who bought the “slave” no longer needed him, he returned him to the family home. However, this could only happen three times, otherwise the father would be considered a bad parent and could kill his son.
8. Doctors used garlic to determine pregnancy
A lack of anatomical knowledge did not allow doctors to say for sure whether a woman was pregnant. However, they used several natural methods.
In 1350 BC women were advised to moisten wheat seeds with urine. When the seeds sprouted, she was pregnant. Another way to perform a pregnancy test involved inserting garlic or an onion into the vagina.
When the next morning the doctor smelled garlic on the woman’s breath, he declared her pregnant.
9. In ancient Egypt people shaved their eyebrows when mourning their cats
People in ancient Egypt revered cats as their favorite animal and believed they brought good fortune to families. Bastet, the goddess of home and fertility, was depicted either as a cat or as a woman with a cat’s head. Cats were sacred and anyone who harmed them was sentenced to death.
Ancient Egyptian families showed their grief over the death of cats by having everyone shave their eyebrows. The cat’s body was wrapped in a carved wooden mask and a small cat mummy was placed in the family tomb or in a special cat cemetery.
An interesting fact is that Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon and Hitler suffered from ailurophobia, a fear of cats.
10. Public toilets in ancient times
You already know that people in ancient Rome used every possible means to take care of their personal hygiene. They regularly visited public baths and used sponges in the toilets.
However, only really wealthy people could afford to have their own bathroom or toilet at home. The other 95% of the population used public toilets – long rows of massive stone or wooden seats with holes.
