# Chasing Mummies: Oh Mighty Isis, History Channel has killed again **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2010, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757 "2010-07-15T07:47:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/41 "2010-07-18T18:55:26Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [Simcha Jacobovici](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Naked_Archaeologist)? Please! That guy is a complete fraud. I have never seen him appear as anything other than _fully clothed_. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/42 "2010-07-18T19:13:30Z")
When I was in Niagara Falls many years ago, there were some museums (pay tourist traps) with mummies. One was an incredible mummy that had his face exposed and showed a red beard. Another was a mummy with hands crossed. Someone said they thought the 2nd mummy might be royal. They asked someone from Egypt to come over and verify. Yep ,Hawas came with a terrible attitude. He said no way, but he will come and waste his time if he gets paid. Once he got here he changed his mind when he saw it. It was a royal. He confiscated it and took it back to Egypt. I just enjoyed it when he was proven wrong . ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/43 "2010-07-18T19:20:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’d like to make a MILF-hunting porn film called _Chasing Mommies_. The thought of Dr. Hawass starring in _that_ makes me reach for the brain-bleach. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/44 "2010-07-18T20:02:16Z")
Holy shit, I caught about 15 minutes of this show and thought it was the History Channel trying to satirize reality shows. It’s for real? It all seemed so fake fake fake, I thought it was a mocumentary. Jesus wept. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/45 "2010-07-18T20:24:15Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > I want my Hitler Channel back. Me, too. I would rather watch endless footage from WW2 than the shit they’re playing now. Last night there was a 2 hour special called “Why We fear the Dark” or some shit like that. In the first hour, they had several experts explain that we’re afraid of the dark because of: 1. Lions 2. the devil lives in the dark 3. the wind I wasn’t curious enough to stick around for the second hour, but I’m sure it would have completely changed how I view the dark. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/46 "2010-07-18T20:34:44Z")
Well, another twenty-thirty years or so and no one will know the difference between investigative reporting and entertainment. The real question about Dr. Hawass is- Is he hawt? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/47 "2010-07-18T21:06:00Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > When I was in Niagara Falls many years ago, there were some museums (pay tourist traps) with mummies. One was an incredible mummy that had his face exposed and showed a red beard. Another was a mummy with hands crossed. > Someone said they thought the 2nd mummy might be royal. They asked someone from Egypt to come over and verify. Yep ,Hawas came with a terrible attitude. He said no way, but he will come and waste his time if he gets paid. Once he got here he changed his mind when he saw it. It was a royal. He confiscated it and took it back to Egypt. I just enjoyed it when he was proven wrong . He didn’t confiscate it. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/48 "2010-07-18T21:15:53Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > He didn’t confiscate it. Worse- he humped it. And charged admission. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/49 "2010-07-18T21:17:02Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > Well, another twenty-thirty years or so and no one will know the difference between investigative reporting and entertainment. > > The real question about Dr. Hawass is- > > Is he hawt? [U.B. the judge.](http://www.swotti.com/tmp/swotti/cacheEMFOASBOYXDHC3M=UGVVCGXLLVBLB3BSZQ==/imgZahi%20Hawass3.jpg) I suppose if you have a REALLY big thing for Omar Sharif and you squint your eyes in the dark then… Actually no, not even then. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/50 "2010-07-18T21:23:56Z")
A History Channel host who _was_ hot was[Josh Bernstein](http://www.danshamptons.com/content/hamptonstyle/may_07_2/images/Bachelor.jpg) of _Digging for the Past_- their own version of Captain Tightpants. Since he’s not only Jewish but lived in Israel for some time I’m guessing he and Hawass wouldn’t hit it off so much. At the time I thought “Bernstein’s purty, but he doesn’t know his elbow from his coffee table about any of the stuff he’s talking about, he’s just reading copy”, yet his show was at least semi-informative even if they did detour into Dan Brownville (the History Channel’s 2012 hours of “Is the Da Vinci Code/Angels & Demons real?” documentaries). One of the stupidest episodes was when they tested the remains of the wife of a Merovingian king to see if she had Jewish ancestry… made no sense whatever; it would be like trying to learn if George Washington was descended from Turkish royalty by testing the remains of _Martha_ Washington. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/51 "2010-07-18T22:21:46Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > A History Channel host who _was_ hot was[Josh Bernstein](http://www.danshamptons.com/content/hamptonstyle/may_07_2/images/Bachelor.jpg) of _Digging for the Past_- their own version of Captain Tightpants. That’s Sayid! ---
**Author:** ![Boggette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@Boggette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boggette)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/52 "2010-07-19T18:39:22Z")
I got about 15 minutes in before I had to find something else to watch. I wanted stuff on mummies, not another damn soap opera. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/53 "2010-07-19T18:45:01Z")
Know what I would love to see? A documentary based on this book: [http://www.amazon.com/Mummy-Congress-Science-Obsession-Everlasting/dp/0786865512](http://www.amazon.com/Mummy-Congress-Science-Obsession-Everlasting/dp/0786865512) One could do an updated verson. 🙂 Thing is, it has the science _and_ a certain soap-opera quality to it - tracking the feuding in the somewhat-closed academic world of people who study mummies around the world, when they are all gathered together … ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/54 "2010-07-20T00:11:00Z")
> [@Boggette](#): > > I got about 15 minutes in before I had to find something else to watch. I wanted stuff on mummies, not another damn soap opera. Especially when it’s not about dead Egyptians. If it was a soap opera with Hatshepsut or Akhenaton at the center, THAT would be worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/55 "2010-07-20T11:37:44Z")
I finally took the time to watch the first episode last night. Thanks to this thread I already knew about the reality show crap. There was 20 minutes that were pretty good. Tearing down the house and finding a tomb was interesting. Opening the coffin and finding the mummy was cool. The end was spoiled when that dude had a hissy fit about talking. Anyone else find intern Lindsay hawt? I rather watch her than Hawas. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/56 "2010-07-20T11:52:24Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Someone said they thought the 2nd mummy might be royal. They asked someone from Egypt to come over and verify. Yep ,Hawas came with a terrible attitude. He said no way, but he will come and waste his time if he gets paid. Once he got here he changed his mind when he saw it. It was a royal. He confiscated it and took it back to Egypt. I just enjoyed it when he was proven wrong . I would so love to see cites or other info about this. I do not doubt/dispute it _at all_, fwiw, but am not sure how to search this mummy by name/date/etc and I bet Hawass’ name is all over mummy searchings. Just wanting to learn more about this one (for sure!). Appreciate any info on this so I can further enjoy his wrongness… ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/57 "2010-07-20T11:59:21Z")
The interns have some legit academic training. Note that Lindsay graduated magna cum laude. She plays dumb on tv (hence the acting degree), but she’s actually smart. Derek has a master’s degree in Mediterranean archaeology from Bristol University in England. It’s a shame they are wasting these talented kids as foils for Hawas to scream at. [http://www.history.com/shows/chasing-mummies/bios/](http://www.history.com/shows/chasing-mummies/bios/) > [@](#): > > Lindsay Tanner grew up in Colorado, New Jersey, Virginia and Australia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and acting from New York University, where she graduated magna cum laude. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/58 "2010-07-20T12:23:20Z")
From now on, it’s Doctor Haw-ASS. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/59 "2010-07-20T13:39:46Z")
> [@Ionizer](#): > > I would so love to see cites or other info about this. I do not doubt/dispute it _at all_, fwiw, but am not sure how to search this mummy by name/date/etc and I bet Hawass’ name is all over mummy searchings. Just wanting to learn more about this one (for sure!). Appreciate any info on this so I can further enjoy his wrongness… The mummy was Ramses 1: > **[National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/)** > > Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757/60 "2010-07-20T15:50:35Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The interns have some legit academic training. > Note that Lindsay graduated magna cum laude. She plays dumb on tv (hence the acting degree), but she’s actually smart. > > Derek has a master’s degree in Mediterranean archaeology from Bristol University in England. > > It’s a shame they are wasting these talented kids as foils for Hawas to scream at. They ought to send him Big Hoss and Chum from _Pawn Stars_. Now that would be a show worth watching- Chum drops a 3000 year old canopic jar which makes Hawass go ballistic which makes Big Hoss tell him to “go [bleep]k yourself!” and it ends up with Rick and the Old Man coming to Egypt to hash out differences. That’d be cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chasing-mummies-oh-mighty-isis-history-channel-has-killed-again/546757.md?page=4)