Seth Rogan, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, & many others continue maintaining a spark of excitement, keeping cannabis alive & fresh. Cannabis has had thousands of names throughout history, has a mind-blowing ancient origin story, is related to beer (hops), & has useful properties in car manufacturing.

Let’s dive in and see if we can discover some exciting things about the fun history of cannabis you may not have previously known.

Fun Cannabis Throughout History

There are about 2,300 exclusive strains and approximately 1,200 slang terms for cannabis.

Since cannabis is illegal in most parts of the world, cannabis-associated funny names are often used to disguise its identity to the authorities.

A few of the common names we usually hear in America include.

• Cannabis
• Weed
• Ganja
• Hashish
• Hemp
• Marijuana
• Pot

Beyond the handful of common slang terms for cannabis, what we find around the world is that cannabis appears to transcend language barriers.

Cannabis is often known locally through its traditional name in many cultures.

Examples of international cannabis names in different cultures.

• भांग (Bhang), Hindi
• Bhangi (Swahili)
• Cáñamo (Spanish)
• Canapa (Italian)
• Cần sa (Vietnamese)
• Beuh (French)
• Dagga (Afrikaans)
• Diamba (Kimbundu)
• Gandia (Mauritius)

The most unusual yet famous slang for Cannabis is 420, which is a number well-grounded in the cannabis culture.

The term 420 came about in 1971, students in San Rafael, California, coined the word "420" for a plan to look for an old seed that had been lost.

They named Louis Pasteur’s statue as their meeting place and the time 4:20 as their cannabis smoking time for the teenagers.

The Waldos' story is attributed to Steven Hager of High Times.

He has traced the earlier acceptance of the term to Deadhead fans.

As society has deemed it acceptable to consume cannabis at a certain time of the day, the term has grown into a code word for that day.

The first time 4:20 cannabis smoking and 4/20 emerged in the High Times was in May of 1991.

How the Vedic Gods Of India “Created” Cannabis?

By far, the most incredible story about the ancient origins of cannabis is contained within the far eastern stories of the Vedas.

While the origin story of cannabis is an utterly cosmic story of unknown origins, the complexities of the first time hearing the brief story can boggle the mind beyond comprehension.

What we know about the Vedic origin of cannabis involved the Gods and Demons ending war to combine forces with the intention of discovering immortality.

By combining forces, the Gods and Demons agreed they could achieve their goal of immortality much faster and more efficiently.

As the story goes, the Gods and Demons worked together peacefully for exactly one thousand years.

During this time, they worked with the raw materials of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, known by modern science as a black hole.

They stirred the cosmic oceans in the hopes of finding that magic element that will give them immortality.

The raw material the Gods and Demons were stirring was Mount Mandara’s peak, which is the supermassive black hole located at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.

As they were stirring the cosmic oceans, a terrible poison emerged from the black hole called Halāhala.

Halāhala is described as a time puzzle (black mass) with the capability of destroying all of creation.

Luckily, Lord Shiva chose to consume this poison to save the universe from total destruction and permanent extinction.

After stirring the entire galaxy’s cosmic oceans for one thousand years, suddenly, a single drop of heavenly nectar form in the sky and fell down to Earth.

This drop of heavenly nectar was known as Amrita.

Upon the drop of Amrita hitting the ground, a sacred cannabis plant sprouted from that exact spot.

Cannabis Connection To Beer - Humulus (Hops)

Hops (Humulus lupulus) and cannabis have similar organoleptic properties (all sensory properties like smell, taste, and appearance).

Cannabis and hops also originated from the Cannabaceae and are included in the Celtis tribe.

The plant species are dichogamous, which is a botanical term for plants that are either male or female.

Indica, Sativa, and Ruderal are varieties of Cannabis, while H. Lupulus, H. Yunnanensis, and H. Japonicus are native to Europe, North America, and Canada.

Aromatic compounds present in plants are referred to as terpenes and terpenoids.

Cells synthesize terpenes, a type of organic molecule that is all derived from one isoprene unit.

Certain terpenoid fragrances, such as beta-pinene and alpha-humulene, contribute to the unique aroma of Cannabis.

Until the 1990s, Urticaceae plants were thought to belong to the same taxonomic genus.

This led to such agitation among the botanists that in 1998, they founded the Angiosperm Phylogeny Comedy Club to unravel the mess.

Hemp Car: How Cannabis Was Used In Car Manufacturing

In 1941, Ford showcased his latest vehicle designdesign of a vehicle made with certain parts of the vehicle made from hemp.

Unveiling the creations of a car made from hemp affected the world and the overall perception of how you can use all parts of the cannabis plant for many different applications.

One of the Model T’s Ford constructed had certain parts of the car made from hemp or infused with hemp.

A common misconception was the car was made entirely from hemp.

The truth is, only a handful of pieces contained some hemp fibers, but the car could run on hemp oil gasoline.

Most of the car was made from steel, yet the car’s body was made with a mixture of hemp and plastic -- measuring approximately ten times stronger than steel.

Henry Ford was wholly convinced of the panel's strengths and swung an axe at the car’s body.

When he tested his theory, the head of the axe, which would have sliced into steel, bounced right off the hemp car body and didn’t even leave a dent or scratch.

In our modern era, a Calgary-based company re-invented Ford's vision of a hemp car known as the Kestrel.

Famous People Who Consume Cannabis

While the amount of famous people who consume cannabis is quite widespread, below, we present a short list of some of the more notable consumers.

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has claimed that smoking cannabis helps her cope with the physical and mental burden of being a celebrity.

However, according to People, Gaga admitted in a 2013 radio interview that the need to continually make amazing music caused her to overuse cannabis.

She also admitted to being hooked to cannabis at one stage in her life.

Snoop Dogg

It's no secret that Snoop Dogg loves smoking cannabis.

Getting high is a common trend in several of the rapper's albums.

Despite the fact that several others have attempted to compete with Snoop, only the country star Willie Nelson has been able to out-smoke him.

Snoop Dog has also confirmed that he is cool with his children consuming cannabis responsibly.

Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson has cultivated a reputation as a massive cannabis consumer for years.

Besides Snoop Dogg, the country music superstar is arguably one of the most well-known cannabis smokers on the planet.

Nelson claimed that smoking cannabis saved his life in a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone.

This led Nelson to create his own cannabis collection known as Willie's Remedy, which includes coffees and teas flavoured with hemp oil, capitalized on his reputation as a "legendary stoner."

Sarah Silverman

Seth Rogen told Sarah Silverman that she was the first star with whom he had ever smoked cannabis.

Sarah Silverman, an actress, has made her passion for cannabis known to her followers.

During a 2014 red-carpet interview for the Emmys, she also showed TV host Giuliana Rancic a glimpse of her cannabis vape pen.

Silverman confirmed in a 2015 interview with BuzzFeed that she was the first star with whom Seth Rogen had ever smoked cannabis.

Seth Rogen

Rogen's stoner positions are informed by his own life experiences.

Rogen has portrayed stoners in films such as "Knocked Up" (2007) and "Pineapple Express" (2008), but he has often been open regarding his own drug use.

He has admitted that he often smokes when writing, and he told MTV News in 2011 that cannabis makes the everyday grind a lot more bearable.

Rogen also confessed to being intoxicated "all day every day," including when recording, in a 2019 interview with Stephen Colbert.

Jay Z

Jay Z more famously backed California's Proposition 64, which legalized medical cannabis (and it passed!).

Jay's activism was far from his first venture in cannabis.

Rihanna

Rihanna is not ashamed of being seen publicly smoking Cannabis.

During Coachella 2012, she was spotted rolling a blunt on one of her bodyguards' bald head.

Bob Dylan

Many teenage blaze mixes featured "Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35," a song featuring lots of slurry group hollering alongside repeated mentions of getting stoned.

It seems like enough evidence on its own; an ongoing rumour states that Robert Zimmerman also introduced the Beatles to cannabis, thus inspiring many of the foursome's later, more psychedelic work.