American Boomerangs, Japanese Mummies & Boys in Frocks

The first boomerangs were used in North America.

You might have heard about boomerangs. They are curved pieces of wood painted with designs that come back if you throw them in a certain way. Most people relate boomerangs with Australia but that is not the truth. Boomerangs were first used in North America to knock out animals like bison and deer. Wonder if somebody threw the boomerang all the way to Australia thinking it would come back but it never did. Looks like boomerangs don’t always come back.

Illustration by- My father

Japanese monks mummified themselves.

Illustration by- My father

We all know of Egyptian mummies, but have you heard of Japanese mummies? Japanese monks used to believe mummification led to enlightenment. So, the monks use to go on an only nuts and seeds diet and undergo vigorous activity for 3 years. This would make the monk lose all his body fat. Then the monk would start drinking a poisonous tea made of the sap of the Urushi tree. This would make him lose all his body fluids through vomiting and diarrhea. It would also make the monk’s body too poisonous for even maggots to eat. The monk would then lock himself in a coffin slightly larger than himself provided with a narrow pipe for breathing and a bell that would be rung by the monk to indicate he was alive. Once the bell stopped ringing the pipe was removed and the coffin was sealed. After 3 years the coffin was opened and if the body was mummified it was believed that monk had attained enlightenment. Very few monks got mummified most of the bodies just decomposed.

There was a belief in medieval Europe that babies should not be allowed to move their hands and legs till they were 6 months old!

Illustration by- My father

Babies in medieval Europe were wrapped in cloth until they were 6 months old as it was believed that babies should not move their hands and legs till they were 6 months old. After 6 months were over the child, boy or girl was made to wear frocks till the age of 6. After that they were given their first pair of breeches. The day the first pair of breeches were given was called “Breeching” and was celebrated with a feast.