6. On the Other Hand, Ancient Egyptians Were Far Off the Mark With This Weird Garlic Pregnancy Test
Another ancient Egyptian pregnancy test, although one that was less successful than the pee-on-barley-and-wheat test, had to do with garlic. Ancient Egyptian women who might be pregnant placed a clove of raw garlic next to their cervix when they went to bed at night. When they woke up the next morning, if the sulfuric taste of garlic had migrated to their mouth, they were thought to be pregnant. Unfortunately, no modern scientific research has supported the effectiveness of the garlic pregnancy test.
Ancient Egyptian men also had a special use for garlic. The Greek philosopher Charmidas wrote that Egyptian husbands chewed garlic cloves on their way home from their mistresses. That way, their wives would not suspect that anybody would have been kissing them with such bad breath. Ancient Egyptians were not alone in their belief in the effectiveness of garlic. Other ancient cultures ascribed various medicinal properties to garlic, from headache relief to rabies cure. The Roman naturalist Pliny thought garlic could sap a magnet’s power, while Roman legionaries were fed garlic in the belief that it would give them courage. Either that, or repel the enemy with their horrible garlic breath.