Science Information courtesy of OnlineFuture.co.uk


Humans and Bees Go Back a Long Way


The ancient history of of man and bees has been writen about for thousands of years. Specifically the human history and the use of Bee's Wax is truly fascinating. We have often been asked where wax comes from? Well there are many types of Waxes. Bees wax has been around for a while. There are many mentions of beeswax in historic writing such as the myth where Icarus son of Daedalus put on wings of wax and as he flew too close to the sun, it melted and Icarus fell to his death. The father with more experience flew closer to the ground and made it to Italy.

In Roman times Pliny, lived from 23 AD to 79 AD and described white bees wax which he got by boiling yellow bees wax in salt water. This was then used in broth and feed to those with dysentery, it was also used as a skin softener. Some beeswax to this day is used in cosmetics. Virgil the great Roman Poet (well I do not think the stuff is that good) wrote of an invention by Pan, who was the guardian of the bees (an ancient bee keeper man) made a flute of reeds held together by bees wax. During the Middle Ages wooden panels covered with beeswax was noted by Homer a Greek poet. Many Romans were honored by having statues made of them selves made in bees wax and thus today we have the Movie Land Wax Museum in LA. Romans also wore Death Masks as well occasionally. The Egyptians used wax figures of deities in funeral ceremonies and placed them in graves.

In 400 BC Greek Historians say that Persian coated bodies were a form of embalming. The Assyrians covered bodies with bees wax and then dipped the bodies in honey? Hey honey, who knows? In 181 BC when the Romans defeated the Corsicans and imposed a tax of 100,000 lbs of bees wax. The Romans demanded bees wax when they conquered the city of Trebizond in the first century AD. In Medieval European times wax was a a unit of trade for taxes or other. In 1330 farmers in one region of France paid 2 lbs of bees wax per year. On 1632 records show that the French Monastery called for rent of 600 lbs. of bees wax per year. Also in 1371 a petition was presented to the London Court of Alderman in behalf of the Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers, which established them as the world's oldest English Guild. In 1483 the company received a Royal Charter with authority to oversee the craft of wax chandlery. And when faults were found to punish the offender, which included seizing the wax.

Candles of bees wax were at one time required by the Roman Catholic Church as the exclusive and only candles. The bees were brought to Puerto Rico by the church and the early priests and conquistadors.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs


MORE RESOURCES:

BBC News

National Briefing | Science Nasa Delays Mars Mission
New York Times, United States - 3 hours ago
The Mars Science Laboratory, an SUV-size rover that is to explore the Martian surface for two years, is now scheduled for launching in 2011. ...
Mars Science Lab launch delayed two years CNN International
NASA delays Mars Science Laboratory launch to 2011 Christian Science Monitor
NASA Delays Launch of Over-Budget Mars Science Lab Until 2011 Bloomberg
USA Today - Space.com
all 432 news articles


BBC News

Minister checks on science exams
BBC News, UK - 9 hours ago
By Gary Eason A government minister has said he is calling in copies of GCSE and A-level science exam papers to satisfy himself they are not being "dumbed ...
Investment in science vital for the future, says Brown Independent
UK Funds Scientists to Fight Climate Change, Economy Woes Bloomberg
Britain’s big challenges will be met by doctors of innovation Times Online
The Press Association
all 110 news articles


National Briefing | Science California: Fire Damages Landmark ...
New York Times, United States - 3 hours ago
By REBECCA CATHCART A fire that started in the attic of the Body Shop, a single-story strip club in West Hollywood that has drawn crowds for half a century, ...


Washington Post

CNN downsizes science team
Science News - 15 hours ago
By Janet Raloff Okay, we’d like to think that you find Science News riveting, comprehensive, one-stop shopping for all of your science-reporting needs. ...
CNN drops science-tech unit and veteran reporter Atlanta Journal Constitution
CNN Shafts Its Science and Technology Department Jossip
Global Warming Update: CNN Drops Science Unit and Miles O'Brien NewsBusters
Wired News - The Associated Press
all 129 news articles


'The Ultimate Keys to Success in Business & Science': A ...
MarketWatch - 19 hours ago
"This book is loaded with ideas and insights into business and science that will change you and your thinking forever." -- Mitchell R. LaBar, Senior Vice ...


Science Journalism Implosion, CNN and Beyond
New York Times, United States - 16 hours ago
By Andrew C. Revkin CNN is eliminating its seven-person unit covering science, the environment, and technology, saying its “Planet in Peril” programs do the ...


Where Science Rules, but Soccer Thrives
New York Times, United States - 7 hours ago
That long-term dedication to science has enabled O’Donohue to recruit nationally, as well as close to home. Johnson, a 6-foot-1 junior striker, ...


Abortion Myth About Depression Falls Before Science
U.S. News & World Report, DC - 14 hours ago
By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog. First, there was the widely discredited claim that abortion raised breast cancer rates. ...


Hollywood and science fiction, back to the future
Los Angeles Times, CA - 8 hours ago
7) the Los Angeles Times Calendar section features a special package of science fiction stories that include a piece on Keanu Reeves and his alienated role ...


As 2008 Hurricane Season Ends, Hurricane Science for Safety ...
MarketWatch - 8 hours ago
The Hurricane Science for Safety Leadership Forum was sponsored by the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. -- FLASH(R), the Institute for Business & Home ...

Science - Google News

home | site map
© 2007