7 Really Deadly Experiments

As with any field, there are plenty of misconceptions when it comes to science. Many people have a warped view of what scientists do, believing them to be mad scientists locked away in dark labs putting themselves and others at risk on a daily basis. While there may be some truth behind the caricatures, science is actually a fairly safe occupation with strict regulation surrounding experiments and testing procedures. However, that doesn’t mean that all experiments conducted by scientists are entirely risk-free. From the first documented experiment (on dropping objects from tall buildings) to more recent examples, there have been numerous experiments that could have gone horribly wrong – fortunately for us all, they didn’t, for the most part. Here are 7 really deadly experiments that were conducted by people who should have known better…

1. Sticking a Human Being in a Vacuum Chamber to Test Its Effect:
In order to understand how the human body responds to reduced levels of pressure, a scientist in the 1920s decided to stick himself inside a vacuum chamber and see how he fared. He was exposed to such low levels of pressure that his lungs were unable to expand, and he was unable to draw breath. As a result, he died almost immediately after the experiment was concluded. Maintaining an atmosphere with a certain level of pressure inside is essential in allowing our bodies to function properly. By placing himself in a vacuum chamber and experiencing reduced pressure, the scientist was essentially conducting an experiment on himself, albeit a deadly one.

2. Decapitating Chickens to Find Out How Their Eyes Work:
The fact that we can see is due to the eye’s cornea being transparent, and the retina being able to see light. In order to determine how the eye works, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin conducted an experiment in which he took the heads off a number of chickens. By removing the heads of the chickens, the scientist was able to observe that the retina and cornea both become transparent when there is no blood flowing through the eye. This experiment was conducted in the 1890s, decades before the invention of modern microscopes, meaning that the scientist was unable to observe his findings in as much detail as he would have liked. In conducting this experiment, the scientist was essentially killing numerous chickens to prove a point. The amount of harm he caused to these animals was entirely unnecessary, especially considering how far we have come with technology in the past century.

3. Testing the Effects of Toxic Gases on Humans:
During World War II, the United States government conducted a number of experiments to test the effects of chemicals and other substances on humans. One such experiment involved exposing 80 US soldiers to mustard gas, with them having no idea that they were in fact being used as test subjects. The gas used in this experiment was later found to be different to the one that was supposed to be used, meaning that the soldiers were actually being exposed to a much more dangerous substance than had been anticipated. The effects of mustard gas are horrific, and it is widely believed that the experiments conducted by the US government during World War II caused the deaths of many people. These types of experiments were legal at the time, but they were undoubtedly unethical, and more than a few people were subjected to unnecessary pain and suffering.

4. Trial by Fire: Dousing Prisoners in Flames for Science:
During the Middle Ages, a scientist known as Gilles de Corroy decided to conduct a particularly brutal experiment, which involved dousing a group of prisoners in flames. The prisoners were tied to wooden benches, with a line of gunpowder and flammable oil placed beneath them. They were then set alight and left to burn, with scientists observing the effects of the fire on the bodies. The intention behind this experiment was to study how fire spreads and how quickly it can cause damage to human flesh by using a controlled setting. This experiment is not only crude and inhumane, but it is also entirely unnecessary. There are many ways to study how quickly fire spreads, and all of them are far less cruel and harmful than the method used in this instance.

5. Helping Yourself to a Nice Chunk of Someone’s Brain for Research:
A scientist named Dr. Karl Wunderlich conducted an experiment on a live human being, slicing a chunk of their brain out and removing it from their head. The person whose brain he removed it from was a woman who had been declared insane. Dr. Wunderlich removed a large piece of her brain and took it away to study it. He used the brain tissue to learn more about the structure of the brain, but the experiment was conducted in a way that was not only cruel but completely unnecessary. There are plenty of ways to study the structure of the brain, and all of them are far less harmful than removing a chunk of someone’s brain, leaving them unable to function on any level.

6. Probing the Human Body with Electricity to Advance Science and Medicine:
During the 1880s, a scientist in France called Jean-Martin Charcot conducted an experiment in which he would test the brains of sufferers of epilepsy by sending an electric current through their bodies. While electroconvulsive therapy is used in modern times as a form of medical treatment, Dr. Charcot’s experiments were conducted in a way that was not only crude, but extremely harmful to the patients. There are more modern techniques of treatment available now, meaning that Dr. Charcot’s experiments are entirely unnecessary.

7.Shocking the Brains of Live Animals with Electricity to Understand Human cognition and behavior:
The use of animals in scientific experiments is a particularly controversial issue, with many people believing that the use of live creatures in scientific experiments is inhumane and unnecessary. However, there are occasions when the use of animals as test subjects is warranted. One example of such an occasion is when scientists conducted experiments to find out more about how electricity travels through the brain and the effects it has on the brain. By shocking the brains of live animals with electricity, the scientists were able to observe the effects it had on their behavior. While the use of live animals for this purpose is arguably necessary, the experiments conducted were crude and cruel.

Last but not least...
8. Wrapping Children in Fireproof Blankets and Making Them Breathe Noisy, Smelly Fumes:
A scientist at the University of Iowa in the 1930s wanted to find out how long it took for a person to lose consciousness when they were exposed to a certain type of gas, so he decided to conduct an experiment on children. The scientist wrapped children in fire-proof blankets and put them in an environment where they were exposed to a particular type of gas. The children were then monitored to determine how long it took for them to lose consciousness when exposed to this gas. While this experiment might have been conducted with the best of intentions, there is no denying that it was incredibly cruel and unnecessary. The scientist could have easily studied the effects of the gas on adults and children by conducting tests on models or in simulations, rather than wrapping children in fire-proof blankets and making them breathe noxious fumes.