Tourists always take with them a sleeping bag that is narrowand er at the bottom, wider at the top. The person inside it is similar to a mummy. The designer was inspired to create such a sleeping bag by mummies. 1)
Anyone who had the appropriate amount of money could order the embalming of a corpse. Embalming was very expensive because the process of mummification was long and consisted of several stages, performed by many different people: The corpse was dried, then the organs were removed, the inside of the body of the deceased was filled with fragrant resin and it was wrapped tightly with a long linen bandage. 2)
In Britain, parties were held where mummies were uncovered, after which the corpses were sold for a pittance. They were bought by paint manufacturers. The dried corpses were made into a powder that had an unusual brown hue that was popular with painters. Mummy brown was extremely popular until 1960, then it was discontinued not because a new alternative paint was created, but because the mummies ran out. 3)
The South American Chinchorro people were the first to embalm corpses. Thanks to modern archaeological excavations, scientists have concluded that the oldest mummies are more than 7,000 years old. This means that they existed 2,000 years earlier than the first mummies in Egypt. 4)
There have been lots of mummies found in Europe that have succumbed to the mummification process by accident. People accidentally ended up in peat bogs or it was some kind of punishment. This environment caused natural mummification of the corpse because peat bogs contain a large amount of antibacterial moss, which promotes mummification. 5)
Thanks to modern research methods, scientists found that the only organ that remained in the mummy's body was the heart. The Egyptians believed that the heart was the center of emotion and reason, so it would certainly come in handy after death. 6)
According to Egyptian mythology, the god Osiris was the first to be mummified, but archaeologists have so far failed to find his corpse. After Osiris' corpse was mummified, the corpses of other people began to be wrapped in linen with Osiris' image on it, since he was the god of death and reborn life. 7)
In 2001, near the Scottish coast, scientists found mummies that are 3,000 years old. After research, it was found that the mummies consisted of various body parts. Scientists believe that the corpses were mummified in bogs, and after 300-600 years they were reburied and thrown into graves in random order. 8)
The Greek historian Herodotus was the first to describe the process of embalming a corpse after he visited Egypt in 450 BC. 9)
Japanese Singon monks prepared for embalming while they were still alive. They strived to enter deep and eternal meditation. Over the course of 800 years, some monks managed to achieve certain results. At first, they purified the body and spirit, then asked to be buried alive with a tube that provided oxygen. They died not from suffocation, but from starvation. After hundreds of years, the tombs would have to be opened to see if the embalming process was successful. 10)
In Victorian times, one of the pastimes was to hold parties called mummy unrolling. Besides, in those days, mummies were a basic ingredient in many medicines. Doctors convinced their patients that they had medicinal properties. 11)
During excavations, it was noticed that some mummies were buried with their mouths open. A myth began to circulate among people that people were buried alive and died in terrible agony. But in fact, during embalming, the mouth was purposely left open to symbolize breathing after death. 12)
There is an Egyptian myth according to which all tombs are covered by a curse and those who disturb the dead will pay for it with life or disease. We know many stories about how archaeologists after they excavated a pharaoh's mummy, got sick or died. This theme is quite often used by directors in adventure films. 13)
King Charles II of England was convinced that the dust that covers mummies contains the secret to majesty. He had several mummies of his own, from which he collected the dust and rubbed it into the skin. 14)
On the faces of many pharaohs, there were golden masks, covered with various magical spells. There is a hypothesis that they helped to get into the world of the dead. Tutankhamon's golden mask is unique. It costs about $13 million. 15)