The 72 virgins that the Muslim nutjobs are dying for is a misunderstanding of astrology. The zodiac is comprised of 12 constellations that touch the ecliptic (the sun's apparent path through the sky). Each constellation is 30 degrees long.
The Egyptians divided each constellation into three 10-degree sections. They chose three non-zodiacal constellations to signify when each 10-degree section started, these constellations rose 10 days apart (because 1 day=1 degree). These three constellations were called decans. Since there were three for each of the 12 signs, there were 36 decans in all.
Then each decan was divided in half--two 5-degree sections. These 5-degree sections were called quinaries. Since are two quinaries for all 36 decans then there are 72 quinaries. There are your 72 virgins in heaven. In some cultures, they had 70 instead of 72.
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