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Substitutes - In Ancient Egypt, onions were used to fill body cavities. For example, onions sometimes served as fake eyes.

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Dealing with organs - During the mummification process in Ancient Egypt, internal organs were removed through a long incision in the left side of the body. These incisions were made by a priest trained in the technique.

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Use as medicines - In the Middle Ages in Europe, mummies were sought after to be used in medicine. How so? People boiled the mummified body in water and used the oils to treat stomach pains and wounds.

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The first mummy - According to Egyptian history, the god Osiris was the first every mummy.

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Most popular mummy in the world - This title belongs to Vladimir Lenin. His mummy receives millions of visits every year in Moscow.

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Canopic jars - These jars were used to store the organs of mummies and take their name from the Egyptian god Canopus.

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The heart - During the mummification process, all of the internal organs were removed, except for the heart. This was because in Ancient Egypt it was believed that a person was judged by their heart.

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The oldest mummy in Europe - The oldest mummy in Europe is the famous Ötzi, which was preserved by the sub-zero temperatures of a glacier in the Alps over 5,300 years ago.

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Tutankhamun - This is the only royal mummy that has been found with all its accompanying treasures intact.

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Not just humans - In Ancient Egypt the mummification process was carried out on various animals, including cats, eagles, crocodiles, mice, lizards, and even eggs!

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Tomb Raiders - Tomb raiders in Ancient Egypt would suffer a horrible death if they were caught. The soles of their feet were beaten until they were exhausted, then they were impaled on a sharpened wooden pole and displayed in a public square.

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Differences - There are several differences between a mummy and a skeleton. For example, mummies still have hair, skin, and muscles.

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Not just in Egypt - Despite the practice regularly being associated with Ancient Egypt, in reality there are mummies on every continent on Earth.

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Cats - More than a million mummies have been found in Egypt. Most of them are cats.

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Two kinds - Mummies are divided into two groups: anthropogenic, which is when mummies are created on purpose, and spontaneous, which happens due to the natural conditions of the local climate.

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Life after death - Egyptians saw mummification as a way of living a life beyond death.

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Modern mummies - In 1994, two scientists achieved success mummifying a man who had died of a cardiac arrest using methods perfected by Egyptians. The objective wasn't to create a mummy, but to gain knowledge of the ancient practices.

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The first - The practice of mummification wasn't used first by the Egyptians, but by the Chinchorro of South America, nearly 2,000 years before. They mummified adults, children, and even fetuses.

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Illnesses - Autopsies carried out on mummies have revealed various modern diseases also existed at the time of preservation. Conditions including prostate cancer, gastrointestinal infections, tuberculosis, and ulcers are all longstanding issues.

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Ritual clothing - Those who embalmed bodies regularly wore a mask of the Egyptian god Anubis.

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Strange substances - Traces of nicotine and cocaine were found in a lot of Egyptian tombs.

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Auto mummification - Some Buddhist monks in Japan have practiced auto mummification. They follow a special diet while remaining in a funeral chamber, and die in place.

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Main ingredient - In Ancient Egypt, the main ingredient in the mummification process was natron (a type of salt that helps to dry out the body).

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Slow process - It took around 40 days for a body to become completely mummified in Ancient Egypt. The body lost 75% of its original weight due to the effects of dehydration, as well as the process of mummification itself.

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Importance of bees - Bees were seen as creatures with magical properties. Their wax was used to fill body cavities such as the mouth and nasal passages.

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Emptying the head - The process of mummification started with inserting a cane through the nasal passage to reach the brain. After 'liquefying' it, the brain was drained through the nose into a cup. The brain was never seen by Egyptians as something that needed to be preserved.

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Insecticide - Various oils and resins were spread over the body to keep insects away from it and to mask the smell of decomposition.

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Decomposition - Climate change is making Chilean mummies gradually decompose into a kind of black sludge. This is due to a change in humidity making more and more microbes appear on the skin of the bodies.

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Discovery of Tutankhamen - The famous mummy was discovered by George Edward, the fifth Count of Carnavon. He died a few weeks after the discovery and many believe it was due to a curse.

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Frankenstein - In Scotland, bodies were found that were preserved as mummies and made of the parts of six different people. Scary!

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Strange case - In 1980, various mummies of ages understood to be between two and five thousand years old were found in China. But these mummies were Caucasian, blonde, and of European origin.

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Not just noblemen were mummified - Noblemen and priests weren't the only people in Ancient Egypt to be mummified. Plebians were also mummified. In 1994, a large cemetery containing the mummies of more than 450 regular citizens was discovered in the Kharga oasis in Egypt.

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