I find when colloquialisms like this are used it's to make a point, like using a child's nursery rhyme to indicate "something so obvious a child would know it". I think in this case it's meant to imply "This is such an obvious statement that it would be known even in antiquity, but..." to allay a "duh, no kidding" response and make the headline more eye-catching.
I find when colloquialisms like this are used it's to make a point, like using a child's nursery rhyme to indicate "something so obvious a child would know it". I think in this case it's meant to imply "This is such an obvious statement that it would be known even in antiquity, but..." to allay a "duh, no kidding" response and make the headline more eye-catching.