10 Disturbing History Facts They Don't Teach You In School
8. Egyptian Slaves Were Used To Attract Flies
It would be no lie to say that Pharaoh Pepi II (2284 BC – c. 2216 BC) really hated flies. So how was he to solve his problem? Easy!
The one thing he had no shortage of was slaves.
He ordered that several slaves should always be near him, having them be fully naked and covered in sweet, sticky honey, in the hopes of attracting the flies away from him and towards them.
By the end of their "shifts" the slaves would be covered in a litany of bites, boils, and sores caused by the innumerable number of insects that would swarm them daily, with the pharaoh being relatively untouched.
It would also be safe to assume that many of these slaves would quickly succumb to diseases caused by these bites, such as malaria. Not to mention the horrible amount of itching that would follow.
Just another way slavery was made to be that much more unbearable.