Ancient Egyptians used crocodile poop as medicine
Thousands of years ago, people didn't have pharmacies. They used strange things like crocodile dung to try and prevent pregnancy!
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Last updated: February 3, 2026 at 05:01 AMThousands of years ago, people didn't have pharmacies. They used strange things like crocodile dung to try and prevent pregnancy!
Ancient Egypt is famous for building giant pyramids and mummifying kings, but they also had some very creative (and gross) ideas when it came to medicine and family planning.
Around 4,000 years ago, Egyptian doctors wrote down their medical secrets on scrolls called papyri. One of these, the "Kahun Papyrus," describes a recipe for birth control. It told women to mix crocodile dung with honey or fermented dough and use it as a physical barrier. While it sounds messy, it was actually based on some early scientific thinking!
Believe it or not, there was a reason behind the madness. Crocodile dung is slightly acidic. Modern scientists have found that substances with high acidity can act as a "spermicide," which means they can stop sperm from moving. So, even though it was smelly and unhygienic, the ancient Egyptians were accidentally using a basic form of chemistry to reach their goal.
Probably not! Using animal waste in medicine often led to dangerous infections. However, this shows that thousands of years ago, people were already trying to find ways to control when they had children. They used whatever they found in nature - including the things left behind by big reptiles in the Nile River.
Ancient Egyptians used a mixture of crocodile dung and honey as an early form of birth control. They believed the sticky, acidic paste would work as a barrier. It was a smelly and dangerous method, but it proves that humans have been looking for medical solutions in the strangest places for thousands of years.