Some of the peskiest creatures on Earth are bugs. Small and grotesque, these tiny creatures can get into any nook and cranny of a home. It is hard to find an efficient way to get rid of some of these creatures. No one wants a creature that can potentially bite them, poison them, or even just contaminate their food to exist within their proximity. Well, one ruler from a nation known for its innovation and inventions came up with an ingenious, and albeit sticky, solution to this dilemma.
Egypt is well known for having the longest river in the world, aka the Nile River. Beyond the Nile River, Egypt also has access to the Mediterranian Sea in addition to the Red Sea. This abundance of nearby bodies water makes for a very marshy and hot environment—the ideal conditions for the fostering of large populations of flies. Flies, an annoying pest to humans and animals, can be tricky to get away. Merely shooing them away can only hold them away for so long, but Pharaoh Pepi II came up with a unique way to keep them away from him.
Pharaoh Pepi II's solution was simple: slather his servant's bodies with honey. Taking advantage of flies' attraction to sweet substances such as honey, Pepi II turned his servants into human flypaper. With all the flies flying towards his servants instead, Pepi could enjoy a relatively pest free and unbothered life.
Insects such as flies can be very bothersome. They're loud buzzing and incessant need to land on all the human food available makes them the bane of many people's existence, Pharaohs included. However, Pharaoh Pepi II had a very special way to deal with them.