Mysterious, intelligent and intriguing – women are truly amazing! They’ve changed the course of history in many ways, leaving their mark through bravery, activism, inventions, science, poetry, litreature and so much more.
From raising children to being loyal friends, companions, and the life of the party, women unselfishly share their emotions sometimes going all the way, hence the saying that women can be too emotional and overdramatic! Mostly choosing style over comfort they always put an extra effort to look their best. In that regard, we’ve prepared some pretty interesting facts about women that might just surprise you…and make you appreciate them even more!
1. Women are famously smart.
Women own the two highest IQ scores in recorded history.
2. It’s all in the science!
Male brains are 9% larger than female brains, but they both have the same quantity of brain cells, only the cell density is different.
In the female brain, the brain cells are packed more densely than in the male brain.
3. Time moves on, thankfully.
Women used softened papyrus, lint wrapped around wood, and paper to absorb menstruation bleeding, in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Japan.
4. Women have been doctors for millennia.
The initial known female physician lived in ancient Egypt around 2700 B.C.
5. Childbirth can be fatal.
A woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth every 90 seconds.
6. High heels used to be a male wardrobe feature.
To imitate men, who started donning high heels in the 1600s as a sign of their masculinity and status, women began to wear heels as well.
7. Makeup used to be seen as sorcery.
In the British Parliament, a 1770 bill suggested that any woman wearing make-up should be punished for witchcraft.
8. Mother Earth has a name.
The first god to be born after Chaos, in Greek mythology, was a woman named Gaia, or Mother Earth. Gaia, without help from a male god, then gave birth to Uranus, (the sky), the mountains, and Pontus (the sea).
9. It’s possible to have twice the female organs.
A uterus didelphys is a rare condition when some women are born with two uteruses. Women with this condition sometimes have two vaginas.
10. Sexual pleasure gets better for women as they get older.
Many women in their 40s and 50s have stronger orgasms than they did during their teens and 20s because a woman’s clitoris grows throughout her lifetime.
11. We live in enlightened times.
In early America, unwed mothers often killed their new-born babies in order to avoid the shame that came with mothering an illegitimate child.
12. Women explorers can beat men to the punch!
A single woman has climbed Mount Everest seven times, more times than any other woman on earth, in the last 16 years.
13. More mothers work now than ever before.
71% of mothers in the U.S with kids under 18-years-old work outside their home. Around 40 years ago, fewer than 47% of mothers worked.
14. Roll out the barrel!
The first person ever to ride over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel was a 43-year-old female schoolteacher.
15. There are women who live as men for societal reasons.
In Albania, a group of women called “burneshas” live in mountain villages as men in order to escape social constraints. They cut their hair, wear men’s clothing, spend years practicing male gesticulations and mannerisms, change their names, and swear to celibacy.
16. Well, he was wrong.
William Acton of England who lived in the 19th century believed that most women aren’t very much troubled with sexual feelings of any kind.
17. The gender gap goes on.
In the United States, usually, full-time working women earn 80 cents for every dollar earned by men.
18. What’s in a word?
In the 19th century, highly sophisticated women didn’t want to say the word “leg,” as it was seen as too promiscuous. Instead, they used the word “limb”.
19. Some rituals saw women dive into fire.
The practice of widow burning in India and Nepal, also known as “sati”, appeared when women burned themselves alive on their husbands’ funeral pyres as a sign of devotion. It was expected to be a voluntary act, but sometimes women were drugged or pushed into the fire.
20. The Olympics weren’t always fair to women.
The first Olympic Games, the “Games of Hera” were held every four years for women who competed in foot racing events, even though women were not allowed to watch.
21. Mary, Queen of putts!
A few days after her husband’s murder, Mary, Queen of Scots went into public to play golf. She is the first woman to golf in Scotland.
22. Maternity and paternity leave isn’t mandatory in the US.
The United States is one of the last countries in the world that doesn’t mandate maternity or paternity leave. In contrast, Estonia proposes more than 87 weeks of paid parental leave.
23. Women tend to give birth to girls near the equator.
The closer a mother lives to the equator, It’s more likely she’ll give birth to a baby girl than a baby boy.
24. Women grow up quicker than men.
Girls’ brains generally mature two years earlier than boys’ brains, because of the high production of estrogen during puberty.
25. A woman struck out baseball’s best.
The first professional female baseball player, Virne Mitchell, struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
26. Women work extremely hard.
Women work approximately 30 minutes more per day, or 39 more days per year than men when considering both paid and unpaid work.
27. ‘Pin-up’ has wartime connections.
The term “pin-up girl” occurred during World War II when photos of curvy women were mass-produced and meant to be “pinned-up” on the soldiers’ walls.
28. Women tend to get more sexually adventurous as they age.
It’s reported that women in their 30s and 40s have more sexual fantasies, casual sex, and one-night stands than in their younger years, making them more sexually active than college-aged girls.
29. MeToo changed everything at the end of the 10s.
The #MeToo movement is a social movement against sexual violence and sexual assault on women.
30. Female authors have been published for millennia.
Around A.D. 1000, in Japan, a woman published the world’s first novel, called “The Tale of Genji”.
31. Women are proven to be inspiring inventors.
In 1903, Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper.
Over the years, women have patented: one-use diapers, paper bags, non-reflective glass, the foot-pedal trash can, the dishwasher, and many other novelties.
32. Women have voted since the 20s in the US.
In 1920, women gained the right to vote in America.
33. Many more women are homemakers than men in the US.
In the United States, compared to 209,000 stay-at-home men, there are 5 million stay-at-home women.
34. Seriously, the Olympics used to restrict women – a lot.
In the 1924 Olympic Games, the only sporting event women could enter was ice skating. There were 15 women performers.
35. Wonder Woman broke records.
In 2017, Wonder Woman was the first superhero film featuring a female lead to be directed by a woman.
36. Misrepresentation is even rife in the Nobels.
From 1901 till today only 48 women have received the Nobel Prize.
FAQs about Women
At what age does a girl become a woman?
Technically, modern society views a girl turning 18 to be entering womanhood; however, this may vary from person to person.
Is ‘lady’ an outdated term?
In some ways, ‘lady’ can be used in negative fashions, to differentiate from males in the same profession - many find ‘woman’ to be a more appropriate term.
Are there more inclusive ways to describe women?
Some people choose to use the word ‘womyn’ or ‘womxn’ to differentiate from ‘woman’, thus removing the word ‘man’ from the equation.
Do you know any fun facts about women? Share them in the comments below!
If you enjoyed these facts about women, why not read up and compare with these fun facts about men!