[Addendum: A couple of friends have reminded me that concoctions with antibacterial and antibiotic properties existed in numerous ancient cultures (though I really could have done without that Roquefort reference, PhDiva! *shudders*). What I found particularly exciting about this report was that it involved Nubian culture and we know relatively little about the … [Read more...] about Wait. Cleopatra’s Neighbors used Antibiotics?
Ancient World
On Stupid Heroes
The kids at Camp Half-Blood at Little Shop of Stories (based on Rick Riordan’s Lightning Thief) yesterday loved it when I told them that Hercules (Heracles) wasn’t the swiftest boat in the fleet.They cracked up when they heard about the time Heracles got so irritated at the sun that he tried to shoot it out of the sky with his bow and arrow. Or that when the waves got out of … [Read more...] about On Stupid Heroes
The Ancients where ‘Whizzes’ at Bleaching Teeth
The earliest Egyptians cleaned their teeth with powdered ox hooves, myrrh, eggshells and pumice. How they applied such a yummy mix of flavors and textures to their teeth is unknown. Ancient Romans scrubbed their choppers with a toothpaste made of rock salt and nettle (a variety which the Romans used to polish glass). They probably threw in a fragrant flower or two to make … [Read more...] about The Ancients where ‘Whizzes’ at Bleaching Teeth
Wait…Disney Stole from the Ancients?
Okay, maybe not stole. How ‘bout “borrowed.” Eons before Walt Disney discovered he had a thing for mice, a popular ancient story went like this:A guy named Eucrates traveled to Egypt to learn from a famous magician. Eucrates spied the old Egyptian using a spell to make inanimate objects come alive and do his chores for him. But the magician refused to share the magic word.One … [Read more...] about Wait…Disney Stole from the Ancients?
