Ancient Egyptians invented breath mints 3,500 years ago
Ancient Egyptians created one of the world's earliest breath fresheners around 1550 BCE — a mixture of frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, and honey, boiled together and formed into pellets. Recipes survive in the Ebers Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medical text. Egyptian dental hygiene was otherwise surprisingly sophisticated — they also used a form of toothpaste made from rock salt, dried iris flowers, pepper, and mint. Breath odour was considered socially unacceptable and hygiene products were widely traded.
Breath mints feel like a modern convenience product. Discovering that 3,500-year-old civilisations had the same anxiety about their breath — and developed the same category of solution — makes certain human preoccupations feel timeless.
“Ancient Egyptians invented breath mints around 1550 BCE — frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, and honey boiled into pellets. Surviving recipes are in a 3,500-year-old medical text. 🌿 #OddlyHuman”