This Honey-Harvesting Invention Made Its Inventors into Multimillionaires

Australian father-and-son duo Stuart and Cedar Anderson might have the sweetest success story in Indiegogo history. For years, the two had tried to find a way to harvest honey without disturbing the bees or extracting the comb. They ended up eventually inventing the Flow Hive—a small structure that houses a colony, and is outfitted with a tap on its side. Bees fill an assortment of clear combs with honey, and all a farmer has to do is peep into the hive, check to see if the amber liquid is ready for harvest, and crank a handle. Boom—fresh honey flows out of the hive, through the tap, and into your awaiting jar.

When mental_floss last reported on the Flow Hive, it had launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance the manufacturing process. With just over a week of fundraising time left, the Andersons had already surpassed their goal of $70,000 by an incredible 13,363 percent.

Now, Australia’s 9News reports that the invention has made the Andersons multimillionaires. Customers from more than 130 countries have already submitted about $16.8 million in advance orders. Is it any surprise, then, that the Flow Hive is the most successful Indiegogo campaign in history?

Of course, we’ve already pointed out various criticisms against the Flow Hive—namely, that it’s better for humans’ bottom line than the bees. However, the public interest keeps on, well, flowing in—and so does the demand for the product.

If you’re interested in pre-ordering your own Flow Hive, you can purchase it on the product's website for $699. To learn more about how the invention works, watch the video above. 

All images courtesy of YouTube.

[h/t 9NEWS]