10 Things the Ancient Egyptians Gave Us

While ancient cave men preceded the Egyptians with their cave drawings, the ancient Egyptians are the first known culture to use symbols as a form of written word. Egyptian hieroglyphics offer a complex language that evolved and advanced throughout ancient Egyptian times.

Are you a fan of eye-liner? Well you have the ancient Egyptians to thank! The ancient Egyptians regarded beauty as holy, and invented various types of of make up including eye liner. This was made of grepond eye paint and black kohl and was painted on with a brush. They also used henna to paint their nails and dye their hair.

One of the ancient Egyptians greatest archeological feat was their invention of water dams. The unpredictability of the River Nile caused problems such as flooding and even drought. In response, King Menes ordered Egypt's first irrigation system to be built in 3100 BC. This allowed water from the Nile to be diverted into canals and lakes, reducing the chances of water related disasters. The foundations of this technology are still used in many of the modern irrigation systems around the world today.

The Ancient Egyptian calendar is the first known calendar that most accurately resembles the modern calendar. It was a solar calendar that included 365 days. Each season was divided into four months of 30 days and each month was divided into a three week period. At the end of this three week period a form of weekend was established, but this was strictly reserved for royalty and high society members.

The ancient Egyptians invented the earliest form of bowling. As you can see the bowling balls were remarkably similar to the ones we use today. The only difference in the game was that the goal was for the ball to land in a hole rather than hit over tenpins.

Cats were worshipped as Gods in ancient Egypt and were commonly kept as beloved pets. This is the first known culture to domesticate cats, which are currently the most popular pet in the world.

As the ancient Egyptians took their looks so seriously it's really no surprise that they also invented toothpaste. An ancient Egyptian text describes a paste that when mixed with saliva will help promote "white and perfect teeth."

The ancient Egyptians weren't immune to sexually transmitted diseases. So much so that they are the first known culture to invent condoms. Archaeologists have discovered these ancient condoms on digs, which were made of cloth and believed to have been re-useable by soaking them in various chemicals and herbs after the dirty deed.

In addition to make-up, the ancient Egyptians were keen followers of fashion. High-heels were commonly worn by both men and women. Ancient statues and findings suggest that platformed sandals were unisex where as women also had shoes that strongly resemble modern stiletto high heels.

The ancient Egyptians used the earliest known form of modern paper. They produced a thick type of paper made from papyrus which they used to write hieroglyphics with. This invention hails as far back to at least the First Dynasty and it quickly became accepted and used throughout the ancient Western world.