The common onion is an herb and vegetable that's been widely
cultivated for thousands of years. In fact, evidence of the use of
onions has been found at archaeological sites that date to the Bronze
Age.
Today, we more or less reserve the worldly onion for culinary purposes.
At different points in history, however, the vegetable has been revered
as an offering to the gods and a suitable embalming material for
Egyptian pharaohs, as a muscle-firming topical treatment for Roman
gladiators, and as a tool of divination to predict longevity, weather
patterns and the prospect of love.
