Six things we can thank the Ancient Egyptians for

Eye make-up
Invented as far back as 4000BC soot was combined with a mineral called galena to form Kohl, which is some countries is still popular today. Green eye make-up was also used. This was made by mixing galena and malachite. Make-up was worn in Ancient Egypt by both sexes and as far as the upper classes were concerned, the more the better. Fashion was only one of the reasons it was applied though, it was believed to prevent eye infections and helped to ward of the evil eye.

Mail
The Ancient Egyptians were the first to use Carrier pigeons to deliver messages

Paper
The word 'paper' comes from Papyrus. Papyrus is a reed plant that grows along the banks of the Nile River. The Egyptians would cut the stems of this plant into strips and soak them to remove the sugar. It would then be pounded dry and woven together to make paper.

The calendar
Closely tied to farming, calendars were divided into three main seasons - Inundation, growing, and and harvest. Each season had four months which in turn were divided into 30 days. Adding these days up you get 360 days in the year. 5 more days were added onto the year between the harvest and inundation to bring the total up to 365.


Breath mints
Egyptians invented the first breath mints with a combination of frankincense, myrrh and cinnamon boiled in honey and shaped into pellets.  These were used to help disguise the results of deteriorating teeth and gums.

The door lock
Being used as early as 4000BC Egyptian locks consisted of a hollowed out bolt in the door was connected to pins that could be manipulated by using a key.