Man Covers His Naked Body in 460,000 Bees to Promote Honey Line She Ping, a 34-year-old merchant from Chongqing, China, employed a practice known as 'bee-bearding' in order to generate buzz for his honey business.
By Geoff Weiss
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How far would you go to generate buzz for your business? Probably not this far: one man in China literally covered his entire naked body in 460,000 swarming bees.
She Ping, a 34-year-old merchant from Chongqing, pulled the stunt -- an international practice known as "bee-bearding" -- in order to generate sales for his line of honey.
All told, the bees adorning Ping's body weighed 100 pounds and stung him approximately 20 times.
In order to attract the bees, a queen in a small cage was hung from Ping's body. He also told the AFP that he avoided showering beforehand because the odor of soap "can excite the bees."
"Bee-bearding" has become popular in the Southwestern city of Chongqing, with other shop owners displaying photos of themselves swarmed by the insects, reports the AFP.
Though Ping fell short of the world record of 135 pounds of bees, held by India's Vipin Seth, he still considered the effort a triumph: "Of the people who do it naked, I'm probably the most awesome," he said.