Bizarre Experiments
September 19, 2007 12:05 AM   Subscribe

They don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee, but my fellow Okies have given LSD to their elephants, all in the name of SCIENCE! — The Top 20 Most Bizarre Experiments of All Time

Previously on MetaFilter: #1, #2, #7, #10, #12, #13, and #16 (Though I may have missed a few)
posted by Brittanie (42 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Never EVER give Mormons to elephants.
posted by miss lynnster at 12:07 AM on September 19, 2007 [13 favorites]


Shit!
posted by Brittanie at 12:12 AM on September 19, 2007


damnyou miss lynnster, damn you...
posted by From Bklyn at 12:13 AM on September 19, 2007


Missed it by that much.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:15 AM on September 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


See, we're such big ol' Jesus-lovin' squares I can't even use the proper drug terminology.
posted by Brittanie at 12:17 AM on September 19, 2007


hey, did anyone make a mormon joke yet? if not, hey, poster, it's LSD!!! and uh, you shouldn't give an elephant multiple wives!
posted by Hat Maui at 12:18 AM on September 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


Why!? Why is this clip not on Youtube?
posted by flod at 12:21 AM on September 19, 2007


Well, to be fair, the song does say "we don't take our trips on LSD". Merle didn't say nothing about elephants...

And what the hell, let's pay ol' Merle a little visit!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 12:27 AM on September 19, 2007


By the way... I would like to make a heartfelt request that people STOP doing Bizarre Experiments that entail lopping off dog heads. Because... come ON. It's just fucked up.
posted by miss lynnster at 12:51 AM on September 19, 2007


We don't shoot penicillin in Tuskegee,
Especially into the negro male,
We don't treat no syphilis in black men,
Our research scientists all got sent to jail

But I'm proud to be a doctor in Tuskegee,
Where unwed sex demands the highest toll,
Particularly for negros or hispanics,
Because abstinence is compulsory for all.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:53 AM on September 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


I've always been fond of Kris Kristofferson's version.
We don't shoot that deadly marijuana, y'hear?
posted by flod at 1:04 AM on September 19, 2007


I did way too much LDS in the 60s.
posted by loquacious at 1:46 AM on September 19, 2007


The puppy shocking experiment is heart breaking. :(
posted by maxwelton at 1:49 AM on September 19, 2007


Damnit! Loquacious beats me to the second spot.

What's left for the rest of us?

Music!

I like to smoke marijuana, it gives me a sweet meditation

Let's get high, let's go get high

Just gimme the herb

Take two and pass
posted by asok at 3:39 AM on September 19, 2007


Damnit! Loquacious beats me to the second spot.

yes! i assumed the OP was making a reference to star trek, and giggled.
posted by quonsar at 4:02 AM on September 19, 2007


Quonsar giggles?

Wow.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:18 AM on September 19, 2007


You'd have to make the secret underwear out of a parachute.
posted by BrotherCaine at 4:34 AM on September 19, 2007


South Park episode 43: When An Elephant Fucks A Mormon. Featuring the song, "Mormon and Elephant DNA Just Won't Splice."

The wirehead experiment is creepiest, sez me.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:54 AM on September 19, 2007


Scary ... I ddin't eevn notice teh tpyo.
posted by itchylick at 5:18 AM on September 19, 2007


Mod note: fixed the LSD/LDS typo
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:23 AM on September 19, 2007


On a hard speeding, blotter acid trip the LDS story would be totally believable.
posted by three blind mice at 5:29 AM on September 19, 2007


Dude, check out my trunk. Woah.
posted by Pollomacho at 5:35 AM on September 19, 2007 [3 favorites]


Does anyone have any more reliable sources documenting #5? Keeping a decapitated head of a dog alive is pretty hard to believe -- how long was it sustained?
posted by rsanheim at 6:14 AM on September 19, 2007


Keeping a decapitated head of a dog alive is pretty hard to believe -- how long was it sustained?

What's so hard to believe? They've kept Dick Cheney alive for years like this.
posted by three blind mice at 6:31 AM on September 19, 2007 [1 favorite]


is video good enough?
posted by empath at 7:57 AM on September 19, 2007


Aaaaaand I would like to personally thank bunnytricks for my 2000th favorite. Confetti & balloons are falling from my bedroom ceiling! Wheeee!
posted by miss lynnster at 8:04 AM on September 19, 2007


It'd be even cooler if I was on acid.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:06 AM on September 19, 2007


Does anyone have any more reliable sources documenting #5? Keeping a decapitated head of a dog alive is pretty hard to believe -- how long was it sustained?

Take a look at this thread at Snopes. Brukhonenko was a legitimate scientist, and his work (including keeping the dog head alive) was published in reputable journals. His work was important in the development of organ transplants and heart-lung machines, I searched PubMed for his name and got 2 hits on articles about the history of this field.
posted by TungstenChef at 10:00 AM on September 19, 2007


I had read about the LSD elephant before, but I hadn't realized there was any question over LSD overdose being the cause of death. The fact similar doses were given (all be it via a different vector) to two other elephants without issue is interesting.

It reminds me a little of that marijuana experiments where chimps were immersed in a chamber of pot smoke long enough to get them high and then their brain activity was recorded (with a dramatic decline). The research was touted as proving pot caused permanent brain damage, but later, when trying to verify the results another group of researchers noticed the original experiment failed to ensure there was enough oxygen in the smoke chamber. Turns out the brain damage was caused by smoke related asphyxiation, but by then the research had already spread far and wide as 'proving' pot was super dangerous.


Oh and of course, you call that SCIENCE!?
[/Shameless Plug]
posted by Jezztek at 10:14 AM on September 19, 2007


As humans, we really do some fairly awful things in the name of science, don't we?
posted by quin at 10:16 AM on September 19, 2007


dumbo
posted by baker dave at 12:15 PM on September 19, 2007



posted by baker dave at 12:22 PM on September 19, 2007


#5? Keeping a decapitated head of a dog alive is pretty hard to believe -- how long was it sustained?

Most of these are hoaxes or wrongly represented. Theyre plugs for some stupid book. Some of this is "fact - tion" not all fiction. Decapitation experiments were all the rage for a while but youre probably looking at quite a bit of faked footage designed to impress the west.
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:58 PM on September 19, 2007


Aaaaaand I would like to personally thank bunnytricks for my 2000th favorite. Confetti & balloons are falling from my bedroom ceiling! Wheeee!

Flagged as offensive content.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:45 PM on September 19, 2007


The puppy shocking experiment is heart breaking.

Yeah, but shit if it ain't fun! *tasers puppy, bullwhips kitten*
posted by Pollomacho at 1:45 PM on September 19, 2007


I took LSD today. I got off on Belmont though.

Bizarre they may be but the Milgram and Stanford experiments did wind up yeilding a lot of stuff to think about.
posted by Smedleyman at 3:03 PM on September 19, 2007


Aaaaaand I would like to personally thank bunnytricks for my 2000th favorite. Confetti & balloons are falling from my bedroom ceiling! Wheeee!

Wait, wha?
posted by From Bklyn at 12:46 AM on September 20, 2007


[fixed the LSD/LDS typo]

so unnecessary.

Aaaaaand I would like to personally thank bunnytricks for my 2000th favorite. Confetti & balloons are falling from my bedroom ceiling! Wheeee!

along the lines of what stavros said, while i think "obnoxious" is probably too strong a criticism, "cloying" seems to fit. i know you're an earnest, sincere poster, miss lynnster, but isn't this sort of bragging precisely the problem with the "favorites" system?







ok, you got me -- i'm actually pissed that you didn't give me any of your "2000th favorite" cake that that favewhore IRFlorence Henderson baked for you, and i'm in the throes of a hypoglycemic rage.

wait, actually, it was the former. that cake looks like it suck-sters.
posted by Hat Maui at 12:56 AM on September 20, 2007


Wait, what? There was cake?
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:15 AM on September 20, 2007


Oh geez. I was just being silly. I was just pretending it was like a one of those old supermarket sweepstakes things where someone gets rained on with confetti & streamers just for hitting a number & being the 1000th customer or something. Jesus. Lighten up people. Having a bad day at work and was just being ridiculous to make myself laugh.

People, I have a life and Mefi favorites aren't exactly a big deal in that life. Having a sense of humor on the other hand, is.
posted by miss lynnster at 9:11 AM on September 20, 2007


Also... JEALOUS MUCH? Suck it, haters!

*Devours large piece of 2000th Favorite Death-by-Chocolate cake deliciousness*

posted by miss lynnster at 9:14 AM on September 20, 2007


Devours large piece of 2000th Favorite Death-by-Chocolate cake deliciousness*

waitaminutewaitaminutewaitaminute - does that come with the five dollars?
posted by From Bklyn at 10:32 AM on September 20, 2007


« Older The Pied Pi(ss)er of R&B   |   Happy Birthday :-) Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments