Fun fact: belly button rings were originally masculine piercings

In ancient times, navel piercings (all body piercings, really) were considered a sign of manliness and courage. It’s believed the Ancient Egyptians were the first practitioners of navel piercings, that pharaohs would wear earrings in the navel as a sign of ritual transition from the life on Earth to eternity and if any commoners were caught wearing belly button rings, it was an offense punishable by death.

I suppose it’s not a total fact, since it has been widely debated by historians with some claiming there’s no truth to it, but take a gander at image below, a statue depicting one pharaoh Akhenaten:

If that isn’t evidence of piercing hole on his belly button, I don’t know what is! If it is indeed true, one has to wonder what these pharaohs would think of the navel piercings of today widely considered a feminine piercing and very unmanly if a man gets one. 😂