10 interesting facts about Egypt

10 interesting facts about Egypt For one of the oldest civilizations in the world, Egypt sure has maintained a great deal of mystique. Known for its ancient myths, pyramids, and pharaohs, many teachers are surprised to learn that Cairo is known to have one of the best nightlife scenes in the world. One thing’s for sure, Egypt is sure to fascinate. So we’re sharing some interesting facts about ancient and modern Egypt to make you a bit more familiar with this exceptional country. Ancient Egyptians were pretty serious about beer. Many tombs were even equipped with brewers to make sure the deceased would travel into the afterlife with a healthy supply of beer. Beer also sufficed as payment for work: the workers who built the pyramids were paid in 1 gallon of beer per day. In Ancient Egypt, women often had more rights than men, including the right to own property, the right to divorce, and the right to initiate business deals. Famously, the last active pharaoh was Cleopatra. The calendar as we know it was invented by Egyptians: 365 days divided into 12 months. The calendar helped to predict the Nile’s annual flooding. For math teachers, the oldest book about mathematics came from Egypt in 1650 BC and it was called The Entrance into the Knowledge of All Existing Things and All Obscure Secrets. Known for its pyramids, Egypt has neither the tallest pyramid in the world nor the most pyramids in the world: the tallest belongs to Mexico and Sudan leads Egypt in the most pyramids per country. The Great Pyramid of Giza still has unexplored passageways. It’s also the only remaining ancient wonder of the world. Cairo is truly the city that never sleeps and Egyptians are typically reported to have among the latest bedtimes in the world. Greater Cairo is the largest city in Africa and the Middle East, with an estimated population of 22 million and approximately 500 sq km. Cairo has two football teams that are fierce rivals, but they share a stadium. There are 5 million Facebook users in Egypt, the most of any Middle Eastern country. If you're interested in seeing what jobs we currently have posted in Egypt, take a look at our job board for more details!

Mansplaining The Art of Talking Down to People

Mansplaining The Art of Talking Down to People Image credit: someecards Man-what? you say.   Mansplaining, as defined by urbandictionary.com, is “to explain in a patronizing manner, assuming total ignorance on the part of those listening.”  Generally, a male does the mansplaining and a woman is on the receiving end, although either gender can fulfill either role.    The term caught fire this past year as memes took over the world and a ring of rape-apologist politicians inspired single-topic blogs such as Mansplaining Paul Ryan. However, the “I know best, sweetie” response is nothing new: mansplaining has been happening for centuries.   Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, seventeenth-century Mexican poet and all-around brilliant scholar, was told by a Sor Filotea that her literary endeavors and worldly curiosity compromised her holiness as a nun.  (Spoiler alert: Sor Filotea was actually a pseudonym of the Bishop, who had allowed her to publish her critique, only to then viciously attack her with a false name.  Jerk.) The concept of mansplaining was popularized by a 2008 L.A. Times article by author Rebecca Solnit that described an experience of hers: a man, all puffed-up and proud with literary knowledge, described to Solnit a book he’d read recently. He refused to entertain the possibility that Solnit herself might be the author, which she was.   (And yes, he knew she’d written a book on that subject the  very same year.) To be fair, the fencing incident might not have been motived by pure sexism; considering my performance that night, I wonder if I just put out a general air of incompetence unrelated to my gender.   If the man had introduced himself, I would have probably said something like “Hi, I’m Kelly, I fence for Tufts,” and there would have been less of a misunderstanding.  Perhaps the man was just trying to make me feel welcome and included.  Even so, his behavior still fits the basic definition of mansplaining: the mansplainer assumes a position of expertise and talks to the, mansplainee under the assumption that he or she is an idiot.  Mansplaining is not necessarily synonymous with evil, but in every case, its insulting, hurtful, and perpetuates the idea that one group or individual deserves more respect and intellectual credit than the other. By the way, splaining isnt just about gender inequity; the suffix is used to refer to people who speak with the assumption that they are superior to others based on a difference in class, race, or other difference-denoting quality.  Take a look here.