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The ancient practice of mummifying a man in honey to sell as medicine

Ellsworth Toohey
Jun 18, 2026
∙ Paid

Sachem31 / Public domain (via Wikipedia)

According to the Bencao Gangmu, a 16th-century Chinese medical compendium, elderly men in Arabia would voluntarily mummify themselves in honey. The donor would stop eating all food except honey, bathing in it as well, “till after a month his excreta are nothing but honey; then death ensues.” The body was placed in…

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