Thought I’d create a new category in my blog, to finally release some of those useless facts I’ve collected in my head over the years. Now I’m not Stephen Fry nor one of his elves on Q.I. (though I do love that show!), but sometimes, my brain just needs to let go.
So for our first entry is the word hysteria, or rather its etymology.
Now the ancient Greeks were a smart bunch. Inventing democracy and all that. Although their knowledge of medicine wasn’t that great.
And this is shown by the original meaning of hysteria. Coming from the word hysterikos meaning womb, it originates from the notion that only women had hysteria, the men being sensible, and that the source of the hysteria came from movements of the womb.
Of course, we know that’s not true today, but maybe those smart Greeks already knew about PMS in those days?
Links:
Merriam-Webster entry: hysteria
Tagged: hysteria, Random Facts