Random Strange Facts About What Everyday Life Was Like In Ancient Egypt (17 items)

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  (#2) They Loved (And Ate) Beer

  The ancient Egyptians didn’t just love beer, they depended on it for daily sustenance. Evidence of beer making in Egypt can be traced back to 18,000 years to the Paleolithic site of Wadi Kubbaniya. In ancient Egypt, beer was consumed by both children and adults, and was a staple of their diet just like bread. Even their wages were paid in grain, which would be used to make bread and beer (actual coinage was not introduced until the Late Period).

  While drinking your dinner might not sound appetizing, the beer the ancient Egyptians imbibed was more like a meal. It was thick and soupy, not too intoxicating, and probably sweet. They loved beer so much they had several gods and goddesses for it, and they considered Ra - the sun god - to be the creator of beer.
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  (#5) They Believed They Thought With Their Hearts

  While the ancient Egyptians understood many things about anatomy, they weren’t always correct about the organs’ biological functions. They believed that the heart - or the ib - was where thought originated from within the body. They also thought it was the center of love, sadness, and bravery, images that remained in the popular consciousness until modern times.

  So what did ancient Egyptians think of the brain? Not much, apparently - they discarded the brain during the mummification process.
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  (#11) Men And Women Wore Lead-Based Makeup

  Ancient Egyptian men were not shy about wearing a little makeup, particularly lead-based eyeliner. Eye makeup was made by grinding ores into a substance known as kohl.

  Although it's now widely accepted that lead products are toxic to humans, research has shown that these cosmetics had a high concentration of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a compound that boosts the immune system and fights off disease - meaning that this ancient eye makeup could potentially help stave off eye infections.
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  (#7) Children Didn’t Wear Clothing Until They Were Six

  In ancient Egypt, children didn’t don clothing until they were about six years old. Although they were nude, they would wear jewelry such as necklaces and anklets. Once the children got older they would wear the same style of clothing as their parents, though the styles depended on their place in the social hierarchy.
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  (#8) They Used Garlic To Test Fertility

  Ancient Egyptians understood that sex lead to pregnancy, but they weren’t quite sure how everything was connected. They thought that a woman’s womb was attached to the alimentary canal - the path your food takes from your mouth to your anus. Thus, putting a clove of garlic in a woman’s vagina would test her fertility. If garlic could be smelled on the breath of the woman, then she was fertile. If her breath didn’t smell like garlic, that meant that she had a blockage in the canal, and therefore could not get pregnant.

  They also thought the origin of sperm was the bones, not the testicles.
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  (#10) Circumcision Happened Later In A Boy's Life

  Circumcision in ancient Egypt didn’t happen at birth, but was considered a rite of passage into manhood. The majority of Egyptian pharaohs were circumcised, with a few exceptions - namely Ahmose I and Amunhotep I. Circumcision might have been reserved for the elite, or perhaps it just wasn't the cultural norm. Temple paintings dating back to 4000 BCE show priests performing the ritual using sharp utensils.

  Some historians also theorize that circumcision was a mark for slavery. Captured soldiers would have their penises circumcised to humiliate them before being sold. Eventually, the male descendants of these slaves were all circumcised. This could speak to the adoption of the practice by Judaic peoples, who were enslaved by the Egyptians.

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