Science - September 1, 2011

The boobs and the bees

Actress Halina Reijn’s breasts as a moneymaker for bee research in Wageningen? Too good to be true? Indeed.

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Bee researcher Sjef van der Steen has a good laugh about it. The Dutch daily newspaper Het Algemeen Dagblad reports today that top Dutch actresses are going to bare all for his bee research. The actresses will feature topless and with their upper bodies painted on a limited series of jars of honey which will be sold on Sunday at the Beeing Festival in Amsterdam.
The profits will go to the bee group in Wageningen, says the newspaper. 'But we know nothing about it', says Van der Steen. 'I have never heard of the festival. A colleague just emailed me to tell me.' Which does not mean that he wouldn't like to have one of the jars. Van der Steen is a red-blooded Dutch... beekeeper.
Enquiries with the festival organizers reveal that the report is not true. It is true that Halina Reijn, Anna Drijver and ten or so other actresses (as well as one actor) are going to go topless. But the money will stay in Amsterdam to be spent on local projects that promote bee welfare. Pity for Sjef and his colleagues.