Origin: Sri Lanka. Cinnamon is the dried inner bark of trees in the tropical Asian genus Cinnamomum. When the inner bark is cut from the trees, it curls to form the familar long 'quills' or sticks. Today, most cinnamon is used in sweets & candy. In the time of the ancient Egyptians, it was used in embalming. Imagine having a cinnamon stick shoved inside you. It would hurt a hell of a lot, especially you know, if it was shoved into your eye, ouuuch ... but I guess, that they wouldn't embalm you whilst you were still alive, so the ability to feel pain is irrelevant