The practice of mummification is most often associated with ancient Egypt, but many cultures around the world have used both natural and artificial mummification techniques. You may already be aware of that mummy fact, but did you know that mummies have been used for a variety of purposes that have absolutely nothing to do with religious rituals?
During the Renaissance, Europeans used powdered mummy parts in both their paints and their medicines. In the United States, the mummy of an outlaw was used as a prop for amusement parks! Check out the wildest facts about mummies below, as shared by people on Reddit.
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1
The Mummy Of Lady Dai Is So Well Preserved That Scientists Know Her Blood Type
From Redditor u/OldManDing6:
TIL: Lady Dai, death in 163 BC, considered the best preserved mummy in the world. Upon discovery she still had moist, soft skin, movable limbs, intact organs and veins with still small amounts of type A blood in them, distinct finger prints and more!
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What do you think?Amazed? -
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2
A CT Scan Of A 1,000-Year-Old Chinese Statue Revealed A Mummified Buddhist Monk Inside
From Redditor u/OyVeyzMeir:
TIL a Buddha statue was found to contain a mummified monk. At the time, such monks believed “self-mummification” was the path to enlightenment and reverence. Monks would starve themselves for a decade, be sealed inside a statue, and subsist on a minimal diet until death.
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3
Some Buddhists Monks Underwent A Rigorous Three-Year Self-Mummification Process
From Redditor u/Pakse118:
TIL Japanese monks mummified themselves while still alive. The practice required the mummifying monk to eat only nuts, buds, and roots for at least three years. When death was near his disciples would put him into a box at the bottom of pit, pack charcoal around the box and bury their master alive.
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4
There’s An Unfortunate Reason Female Mummies Aren’t As Well Preserved As Male Ones…
From Redditor u/MixPakora:
TIL Female mummies in Ancient Egypt were always more decomposed than their male counterparts. They discovered that this was because male bodies were embalmed a lot sooner than female bodies. Female bodies were kept at the family home until they started to decompose in order to avoid necrophilia.
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5
The Oldest Mummy In The World Is Around 9,000 Years Old
From Redditor u/Nimja_:
TIL The oldest naturally preserved mummy is from around 7020 BC – It’s over 9000! Years ago
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6
For Decades, The Mummy Of Outlaw Elmer McCurdy Was Used As A Carnival Attraction
From Redditor u/Tokyono:
TIL In 1975, the mummified body of a bank robber was found in an amusement park by a TV crew. It’d been mistaken for a wax mannequin, and was only found out after a man moved it and its arm fell off, exposing human bone. It was identified as the body of Elmer McCurdy, who had died in 1911.
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7
A Mummified Dog (Along With Its Belongings) Was Discovered In 1906
From Redditor u/Max12301:
TIL In 1906 a tomb (KV50) containing a well preserved mummified dog was discovered in the Valley of the Kings. Also, they found some of the dog’s belongings. They were fragrance bottle, a food bowl and a water bowl that has some inscriptions and Nile fish drawings.
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8
Some Mummies Were Buried With Self Portraits Of What They Looked Like In Life
From Redditor u/piponwa:
TIL that during Roman times, Egyptian mummies were sometimes accompanied with a realist portrait of the dead painted on wooden boards. About 900 of these portraits are known to exist.
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9
‘Mummy Brown’ Was A Pigment Created From Ground Up Mummies
From a former Redditor:
TIL there was a color called ‘Mummy Brown,’ popular with painters. It was made from Egyptian Mummies.
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10
The Chinchorro Mummies Are Turning Into Slime
From Redditor u/barath_s:
TIL: The oldest mummies in the world are turning into black slime. Over 100 Chinchorro mummies found near the Atacama Desert in Chile are turning gelatinous due to bacterial growth associated with increasing humidity. The mummies date to ~5000 BC
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11
Renaissance Era Europeans Regularly Consumed Powdered Mummy Parts As Medicine
From Redditor u/missjardinera:
TIL that during the Renaissance Era, Europeans frequently consumed human body parts as medicine, including crumbled Egyptian mummies, powdered skulls, blood (harvested still warm from newly executed criminals), and human fat.
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12
A Maryland Man Was Mummified After Donating His Body To Science In 1994
From a former Redditor:
TIL that in 1994 a Maryland man was mummified using ancient Egyptian techniques in order to learn more about the mummification process.
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13
Summum, A Salt Lake City-Based Company, Offers Modern-Day Mummification Services
From Redditor u/chazriel:
TIL- that there is a place that will mummify you (after you die of course)
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14
The Great Pyramid Of Giza Contained Zero Mummies, And Possibly Never Did
From Redditor u/DigbyChickenZone:
TIL There were no mummies found within the Great Pyramid of Giza
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15
English Philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) Was Mummified After His Passing
From a former Redditor:
TIL that they have a mummified philosopher in Britain. He sometimes attends lectures.
