Mary Shelley, the "mother" of Frankenstein, popularized the archetype of the "mad scientist." In her book, the doctor was so obsessed with his idea of reviving lifeless matter that for her sake he discarded common sense and ethical standards.
But this happens in real life. Many scientists, called “insane” during their lifetime, conducted experiments balancing on the verge of legal and moral principles (and sometimes even stepping over this line).
Introducing you top 5 crazy scientists.
5. Robert Cornish
Dr. Robert Cornish was obsessed with the idea of becoming a resuscitator. He believed that not too damaged and recently dead body can be restored with a large dose of anticoagulants and a swing table, which swings the body to "restart" blood circulation.
Strange, but true: Cornish managed to reanimate two dogs - Lazarus IV and V, which were euthanized by an overdose of ether. The doctor repeatedly filed petitions in prisons to enable him to use the bodies of executed criminals. In 1948, Cornish contacted the killer Thomas MkGonigal, who was waiting for the gas chamber. He was ready to provide his body for experience. The problem was that the scientist needed a body immediately after the execution, and the authorities were afraid that the brisk criminal would be released (you can not be executed twice for one crime). As a result, McGonigal's request for resuscitation was rejected, and Cornish switched to other experiments.
4. Alexander Bogdanov
The rating of crazy scientists could not do without a representative of Russia. Unlike Cornish, who was obsessed with one idea, Bogdanov, a revolutionary and a prominent science fiction writer, had extensive interests. In particular, he specialized in blood tests. His influence and status led to the creation of the Institute of Blood Transfusion in 1926. In the end, he made sure that a blood transfusion could be used to rejuvenate, and possibly to prolong the life of the human body.
Bogdanov subjected his body to numerous blood transfusions. Ironically, in 1928, the scientist died due to a hemolytic transfusion reaction after a blood transfusion of a patient with malaria.
3. Giles Brindley
This British physiologist revolutionized the injection management of erectile dysfunction and was remembered for his speech at a meeting of the Association of Urologists in Las Vegas, 1983.
He talked about his successful experiences in treating erectile dysfunction with papaverine injections. During the lecture, the 57-year-old the doctor showed slides of his own erect penis and then took off his pantsto show that treatment with papaverine can cause an erection without erotic stimulation. Brindley gave himself an injection before the lecture. He even hobbled down so that the first rows of viewers could appreciate the degree of swelling of the genitals.
His works formed the basis of many modern means for potency, the best of them we published earlier.
2. Paracelsus
Swiss scholar of the 16th century became the founder of toxicology. He argued that small doses of toxic substances could be used to advantage, and that only the dose determined whether the substance would be a medicine or poison.
A connoisseur of medicine and philosophy was also no stranger to alchemy and occultism. In 1537, he wrote a treatise De Rerum Naturae, in which he described some of his alchemical secrets, including the creation of a homunculus, a tiny artificial person.
1. Wendell Johnson
University of Iowa psychologist sad known for insane speech therapy experimentheld in 1939. It was attended by 22 children who had no parents.
Johnson and his graduate student Maria Tudor divided the children into two groups of 11 people. Half of the children in each group were stutters, and the other half spoke normally.
The happy group underwent positive speech therapy. In this group, the children were told that their speech was very correct and clean.
In another group, children's speech was ridiculed for 6 months to see how this would affect their stutter.
Some of the children who were in the second group had no problems with speech before the experiment. And after him, pronounced symptoms of stuttering appeared and fixed for life.
