Ancient Egyptians used a primitive form of pregnancy test involving barley seeds
Ancient Egyptian women determined pregnancy and predicted a child's sex by moistening bags of wheat and barley with urine to see which grain sprouted first.
Expectant mothers in ancient Egypt used a biological test described in the Berlin Medical Papyrus dating back to approximately 1350 BCE. A woman would urinate on bags of barley and emmer wheat seeds over several days. If the barley sprouted, the child was believed to be a boy, while sprouted wheat indicated a girl. If neither grain grew, she was not pregnant.
There's more to this story — open the app to keep reading.
Continue Reading in App
1 more paragraphs · plus a 2-question quiz