Last year, an eccentric Welshman celebrated his 60th birthday by having 60 baked beans tattooed on his bald head! It sounds strange, but it was for a good cause.

Barry Kirk has loved baked beans all his life. So much so that in 1986, he spent 100 hours in a bathtub filled with beans, and earned a world record for it. Since then, Kirk has always associated himself with baked beans, earning himself the nickname ‘Captain Beany’. “Having the bean tattoos is just another step in my lifelong love of the baked bean,” Kirk said with a smile. “Now everywhere I go, people can see that I am full of beans – with the tattoos on my head.”

Photo: Twitter

But the crazy stunt wasn’t all about him and his strange fascination with baked beans. 30 years ago, through his original bean stunt, Captain Beany not only managed to set a world record, but also raise a considerable amount of money for charity. The experience inspired him to quit his computing job and become a full-time fundraiser. For his 60th birthday, he came up with the idea of having baked beans tattooed on his head and asking people to sponsor each individual inking, with the proceeds going to a good cause.

Photo: BBC

He asked donors to contribute £60 per bean, and in exchange he had their initials tattooed in the middle of their sponsored bean inking. He managed to raise £3,600, which he later donated to the Marlie-Grace Roberts appeal, a campaign to raise funds for a three-year-old with cerebral palsy. The child’s grandparents Alan and Joanne Roberts had paid for a couple of tattoos themselves. “Barry came to us to tell us about the crazy idea and we decided to support it,” Mrs. Roberts said. “We now regard him as a part of our family. He is truly an amazing man.”

Sources: BBC, The Mirror