We've come a long way since the first recorded pregnancy tests were conducted by the ancient Egyptians. Although we still rely on some of the same materials as they did in 1350 BCE, namely urine samples, our technological advancements have increased the speed and accuracy with which we obtain pregnancy test results. Today we have the ease of home pregnancy test - hand-held technology designed to detect a special pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), sooner than ever before.