Vintage Hygiene Practices That Are the Very Opposite of Clean

Servants Were Covered in Honey to Attract Flies

To keep flies away from Egyptian pharaohs, servants were smeared with honey and stationed nearby. The idea was that the sticky coating would lure the bugs away from royalty and onto the unfortunate human flytraps.

The method may have worked, but it came at a cost. Those poor servants endured swarms of insects and unbearable stickiness—all so their pharaoh could sit in peace.