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industrial uses of mummies
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Athena View Drop Down
Baron
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Posts: 403 		  Quote Athena Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: industrial uses of mummies
    Posted: 11-Nov-2010 at 12:28
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy_paper
My friend and I were talking about the importance of phosporus and the near future exhaustion of this vital mineral resource.  He said, when we hit the wall in about 50 years, we could recover some phosphorus from graves and sewage.  That would keep humanity reproducing for a few more years. 
 
This was not a totally off the wall comment, but is grounded in history.  In the past, mummies and their wrappings have been a source of income for Egypt.   He told me, the wrappings from munnies were used to make butcher paper, and I had to google what sounds like the making of a good Hallween ghost story.  He wasn't kidding.  There are grounds for believing mummies wrappings were used for making paper, and mummies have been used for other products as well.  I guess especially the Catholic chruch has enjoyed products made from mummies, and given their belief in the mystical powers,  it makes sense the Catholics would be attracted to products made from mummies. 
 
 
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red clay View Drop Down
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Posts: 10226 		  Quote red clay Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12-Nov-2010 at 10:17
I don't think mystic religions had any bearing on it.  Mummies were a commodity, of which they had hundreds of thousands.  Most were shipped to the UK to be used as fuel.
 
On the subject of phosphorus, it's not quite as bad as 50 years. P is vital for producing food crops, yes.  However the mineral is available in many forms.  It's also a renewable resource if you were to set up a recovery and reclamation system.
In NJ they sell fertilizers that don't have P in them.   We have more than adequate P in our soil. 
"Arguing with someone who hates you or your ideas, is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter what move you make, your opponent will walk all over the board and scramble the pieces".
Unknown.
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opuslola View Drop Down
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Posts: 4620 		  Quote opuslola Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12-Nov-2010 at 20:27
Red clay, you wrote above these words;
Concerning mummies, ""Most were shipped to the UK to be used as fuel."

Certainly don't know where you got that UK bit, but the truth of the matter is a little more complicated!

Please peruse the truth here? Out-landish claims are sometimes really outlandish?

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2341/do-egyptians-burn-mummies-as-fuel
Regards,
http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/history/
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red clay View Drop Down
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Posts: 10226 		  Quote red clay Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-Nov-2010 at 10:10
The link you posted isn't working.  I don't remember where I read about this.  It's not anything outstandingly unusual.  I remember in Uni that a prof brought this up also.
"Arguing with someone who hates you or your ideas, is like playing chess with a pigeon. No matter what move you make, your opponent will walk all over the board and scramble the pieces".
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opuslola View Drop Down
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Posts: 4620 		  Quote opuslola Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13-Nov-2010 at 10:50
I tried the link red and it seems to be working perfectly now! Maybe you accidentally copied and pasted "regards" in your effort?

It is a site that debunks such stories!



Edited by opuslola - 13-Nov-2010 at 10:51
http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/history/
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Nick1986 View Drop Down
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Posts: 7940 		  Quote Nick1986 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24-Mar-2011 at 18:36
Using mummies as fuel sounds like an urban legend. While very poor Egyptians living in the City of the Dead may have burned mummies for cooking and warmth i find it hard to believe they would be exported to Europe on such a large scale when wood and coal were plentiful
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