In the ubiquitousBaby Mamatrailer , Tina Fey looks at a used home pregnancy test that mocks her with a presentiment wild blue yonder " NO" in the results boxful . Although the mock factor is optional , home pregnancy trial run can lie it out directly : YES or NO . Whether the solution are determined by blue lines , a plus or minus sign , or the plain run-in , the " pissing on a stick" method is a popular way to discover if one is with nestling . Is n’t it interesting that one of life ’s dandy achievements ( new life ) can be diagnosed by one of life ’s most coarse turn ( peeing , albeit on a prophetical spliff ) ? Also as fascinating , this dichotomy subsist long before the FDA approved the first home plate pregnancy test in the 1970s .
Knocked up like an Egyptian
The earliest record " peeing on a stick" test come from those modern Egyptians . In 1350 B.C. , in between building pyramid and wrapping sarcophagi , someone produced a text file report how to determine pregnancy . You gauge it ; a hypothesize fair sex must urinate on pale yellow and barley seeds , of course ! The ancient Cyperus papyrus read , " If the barley grow , it entail a male child . If the straw produce , it intend a female child . If both do not grow , she will not bear at all . “ In 1963 , testing this possibility found it 70 percent accurate , as the piddle of pregnant women hold elevated grade of estrogen that may promote increase in these grains . As far as the sex guessing , that was Ra have a chortle .
The Sample is in the Chamber Pot
Starting in the Middle Ages and up until the seventeenth C , " piss prophets" diagnosed many unlike conditions and diseases base on the color of piss . Since proven unscientific and often incorrect , this aesculapian practice known as a " Uroscopy" often refer to a handy Uroscopy Wheel to help with diagnosis . A 1552 European written document described pregnancy urine as a " clear sick lemon color leaning toward off - white-hot , having a cloud on its control surface . “ The competently named oracle utilise another pregnancy test where they ruffle urine and wine-colored and see the inebriant oppose with certain present protein . In yet another dubious 17th - century mental test , a ribbon was dim in a woman ’s urine and cut . If the smell nauseate her , babe was on the way !
The Mouse Died
tight - forward to the early 20th century , when scientists first discovered the role hormones played in distaff reproductive memory , they describe a specific internal secretion detect only in meaning woman , human chorionic gonadotropin ( hCG ) . In the 1920s and 30s , to recognize the presence of hCG , which indicate maternity early on , MD injected urine into an immature black eye , rat , toad frog , or even a cony . If a woman were pregnant , the test content would go into hotness despite its immaturity . To harbinger their status , women euphemized , " The computer mouse fail " or " I killed the Easter bunny,“ because killing and dissecting the laboratory animal substantiate the results . A common misconception arose that if the beast died after injectant , it pointed to a positive maternity test . But in actuality , all test specimens were disposed of , much to the chagrin of animal rights militant . This mental test was know as the A - Z test , named after the founding scientists , Selmar Ascheim and Bernhard Zondek .
To e.p.t.and Beyond
In the seventies , as a result of the intimate rotation and the front of reproductive choices , Wampole ’s two - hour , urine - based pregnancy test became available only to medico and technicians . The test could be done early on , but the packaging visualise an authoritative man wear out a lab pelage , imply that this trial was not intended for home use . Other intimidating tools in the corner included : test tubes , a charge plate rack , three bottles of chemical solutions , a small funnel shape , pipettes , and a saline solution . What a way of life to create an atmosphere encouraging relaxation and sample giving !
Home pregnancy examination evolved to the stick we know now and are still evolving . In 2003 , Clearblue Easy ’s digital maternity test ushered in a newfangled generation of home plate maternity run . In place of a thin blue line , the indicator projection screen says either " pregnant" or " not meaning . “ But if still disbelieving , one can always go into a doctor ’s business office for a blood blood serum tryout for a definitive result . Or maybe he has some barley or wheat that have a second opinion .
Sara Newton is an occasional contributor to mental_floss .
