1. Women used lead and sulfur to dye their hair.
People have been coloring their hair for centuries, but the lack of knowledge in chemistry and incorrect use of the wrong substance was sometimes damaging to their health. The Greeks and Romans used a permanent hair dye that consisted of different chemicals including lead and sulfur.
In the 1700s, Italians liked to soak their long hair in corrosive solutions of lye to give their locks a golden color. Afghans also used to believe that dying their hair different colors could cure a headache.
2. Glass balls and ground rubber were used for breast implants.
Since ancient times, women have used a range of methods to try to improve their beauty. The breasts were no exception. Some women put tropical treatments or homemade growth creams on their breasts to try and make them bigger. Others massaged coconut oil into their skin.
Doctors would use different materials to enlarge women's breasts such as ground rubber, ivory, glass balls, and other fillers.
3. Doctors drilled holes in people's heads to release evil spirits.
Doctors have always been curious about the human body and ancient ones used several strange methods to cure diseases. Trepanation (drilling holes) was one of them. They believed that they could cure illnesses such as convulsions, infections, and headaches. They thought that certain diseases were caused by an evil spirit trapped inside a human's head, so they drilled holes to let the spirit out.
Thankfully, this practice was almost completely abandoned by the end of the Middle Ages. Thorough research of some unearthed skulls has shown that some patients even managed to survive after these extreme methods of treatment.
4. Animal droppings were used in medical treatments.
Ancient people believed that animal dung could be used to cure and treat different diseases. For example, women in ancient Greece believed that crocodile dung was a powerful contraceptive and inserted it into their vaginas. In ancient Egypt, warriors applied animal feces to their wounds. Sheep droppings were used in Scotland as medicine for treating smallpox, and pig dung was used to stop a nosebleed.
5. Women were paid to cry at funerals.
A regular funeral in ancient Rome started with a procession that walked the dearly departed down the street. The procession would be followed by the weeping relatives. The more people that attended a funeral, the more respected the deceased was. Therefore, sometimes families would hire women who would pretend to cry to impress the crowds.
Later on, this tradition was considered too negative and extreme. People were no longer allowed to hire professionals for weeping because "these acts invoked strong emotions and were incompatible with the idea of the quiet life of the citizen."
6. In ancient Rome, fathers could sell their sons into slavery. But only three times.
The father was the head of the family and had complete power over his wife and children. They also had the right to decide whether to keep newborn babies in the family.
Fathers were given the right to sell their sons into slavery. If the person who bought the son no longer needed him, he was sent back to his father's home. However, he could only do this three times, otherwise, he was considered a bad parent.
7. Fathers could legally kill their daughters' lovers.
Fathers had a strong influence on their family and especially their unmarried daughters. In fact, they had the right to choose their husbands for them. The rules were strict, and a daughter had no right to have an affair with anyone before marriage.
A father actually had the legal right to kill his daughter's lover (and even her) if he caught them committing adultery.
8. Doctors used garlic to test for pregnancy
The lack of medical knowledge didn't allow doctors to say for sure why some women could get pregnant and others couldn't. However, they used a number of natural methods to test for pregnancy.
In 1350 BC, a woman was advised to moisten a wheat seed with urine. If the seeds started to grow, she was pregnant. Another type of pregnancy test involved placing a clove of garlic in her vagina. The following morning, a doctor would smell the woman's breath and claimed her pregnant if he could smell a garlic aroma on her breath.
9. In ancient Egypt, people shaved off their eyebrows to mourn their cats.
The ancient Egyptians worshiped cats and believed that they brought good luck. Bastet, the goddess of the home, cats, and fertility, was depicted as a cat or as a woman with the head of a cat. Cats were sacred, and anyone who harmed them was sentenced to death.
Ancient Egyptians would mourn the death of a beloved cat by shaving off their eyebrows. The cat's body would be embalmed with a wooden sculpted mask, and a tiny cat mummy was placed in the family tomb or cat cemetery.
10. There were very few private lavatories in ancient Rome
The people of ancient Rome did their best to take care of personal hygiene. However, only a few wealthy ones could afford their own private bathroom or toilet. The other 95% of the population had to use public lavatories that were made out of long rows of massive stone or wood with a hole cut every few feet. The constant running water of the baths flushed the waste into the sewage system.
Source: brightside
Images: depositphotos
