Apparently, a custodian at
the National Academy of Archaeology fell in love with the mummy
("mummy dearest," the article says) and she became pregnant. The
fetus "appears to be eight months old and in perfect health."
(Stupid Question #1: If the mummy wasn't pregnant in March...how could the
fetus be 8 months old now at the beginning of October?)
How could a mummy become a
mummy? Dr. Said theorized that "perhaps the mysterious liquid which
preserved the mother so remarkably is connected with the amniotic fluid
sustaining the baby."
What is truly remarkable is
that the National Academy of Archaeology recently built a delivery room
(Stupid Question #2: Will an archaeologist perform the delivery? Stupid
Question #3: Do they expect more mummified mummies to be delivered and
therefore need a delivery room?).
Finally, Dr. Said noted
that the female mummy was buried with her favorite objects including a
silver baby rattle. "It's as if the mummy knew she was destined to be
a mommy some day," Dr. Said concluded. "It may be happening 3000
years late, but it is happening. Too bad she won't be alive to witness
this unbelievable miracle."
THE TRUTH:
As soon as I saw the mummy
on the cover of the WWN, I knew I recognized the photo. Take a look:
|
FEMALE MUMMY
AS SHOWN IN THE WWN
|
KING SETHOS I |
|
|
|
Do you see more than a
little similarity (except for the doctored abdomen of the pregnant mummy)
between the two photos?
King Sethos (sometimes called Seti) I is one of the best preserved royal
mummies ever found in Egypt, and the first king to have his palms laid
flat against his chest. He lived during the 19th Dynasty (his tomb was
robbed, his mummy damaged, but was later repaired during the 21st
Dynasty). Clearly the female mummy is actually Sethos I, who now resides
in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Could the King be pregnant? Perhaps...if
it would sell more tabloids.
You know better than to be
fooled by the WWN. Could a dead person conceive a child? Absolutely not.
On the other hand, a number of pregnant mummies have been found (they may
well have died during child birth or of complications during the
pregnancy)...but sonograms have not revealed any beating hearts!
In January 2003, the
Weekly World News was at it again with a follow-up announcement: "3,000-year-old mummy has baby boy! Miracle
birth baffles docs!"
The story went on to
recount the details of the conception (a sick janitor at the non-existent
National Academy of Archaeology was involved) and the birth (C-section).
The reader was told that the baby boy weighed 4 pounds, 6 ounces and was
named Tut! Of course, the tabloid told readers that the Egyptian
government refused to discuss this case.
Whatever you do, don't buy
the WWN, unless you like to collect Stupid Human Stories.
The headlines announce:
"3000-year-old mummy to be a mommy! Sonograms reveal a faint
heartbeat of unborn child in mummy's womb, say doctors."