Saturday, October 29, 2016

Bald For A Good Reason...!

When we look back at some of the images that portray Egyptian rulers, we might wonder why they are all bald. Turns out they had a good reason for shaving their heads.

It seems that the folks back then had a real problem with head lice. I never would have guessed, but I do have to wonder what other secrets about the Pharaohs we didn't know. It does kind of make you more than a little curious, doesn't it?

Lice Was So Bad That People Just Gave Up On Hair



Most people shaved their heads in ancient Egypt. We know this from pictures and from records written by people in other countries who looked at Egypt’s fashion choices and puzzled over why Egyptians thought going bald was such a good look.

Today, though, historians are pretty sure they know why. Lice were everywhere in ancient Egypt. The tombs of Egyptian rulers are infested with lice, apparently flooding out from the remains of the bodies.

The ancient Egyptians had lice remedies, but they either didn’t work or weren’t worth the hassle. Most people got so fed up with the nationwide infestation that both men and women shaved every hair clean off their bodies. Women usually wore wigs—hair that could be discarded when it got infested—while some others just went around completely shaved from head to toe.

I figured that head lice was a pretty good way to celebrate the Saturday before Halloween. I picked this article up from the folks at Listverse, BTW.

Coffee out on the patio this morning. No lice in sight...

8 comments:

Gorges Smythe said...

I'd never thought about that!

Sixbears said...

More interesting tales from the "good old days."

linda m said...

That would really explain the bald heads. Wonder why it is becoming fashionable again.

JO said...

I think I would shave my head too. Makes me itch just thinking about it

HermitJim said...

Hey Gorges...
Neither had I until I read the article.
Thanks for stopping by today!


Hey Sixbears...
Makes you wonder just how good the "good ol' days" really were, doesn't it?
Thanks for coming by this morning!


Hey Linda...
I've wondered that myself many times.
Thanks for the visit today!


Hey Jo...
Yeah, I know what you mean.
Thanks for dropping by this morning!

Rob said...

I guess that's one way to deal with it... Shaved all the hair from their bodies? That was before the days of the safety razor.
The dates I get for the pyramids is around 2550bc, that's over 1000 years before iron tools in Africa (they take iron tool as far back as 1200bc).
Bronze tool? Could be, the bronze age in Egypt was as far back as 3300bc.

I have visions of people shaving their whole body with sharpened stones... Obsidian is sharp, real sharp but still... :-)

Dizzy-Dick said...

Dang Hermit, now you went got me scratching my hear. . .

HermitJim said...

Hey Rob...
Guess it made for some interesting shaves. Not very comfortable, I would think.
Thanks for stopping by today!


Hey Dizzy...
Getting itchy all over? The beard is probably next!
Thankas for the visit today, my friend!