Two goodies from _New Scientist_, which I feel compelled to share. The newer, just published, led me to the older. Note that the term "experiment" is used here in its looser sense as systematic inquiry (although some of the "experiments" on these two lists barely qualify). This is not the sense it is sometimes taught in psychology, which requires an investigation with randomized control and experimental groups.
First the older: Top 10 bizarre experiments (November 2007) http://tinyurl.com/bohgx6 Some notes on the entries: 1) Elephants on Acid Their header is a bit misleading because it was only one elephant. I also remember a follow-up letter-to-the-editor (Harwood, 1963) which termed this misadventure with drugs an "elephantine fallacy". Harwood argued that the perpetrators had made a grievous error in using body weight in scaling up the dose for an elephant from that appropriate for a small mammal. This is because metabolic rate varies, not with body weight, but with surface area (of which elephants have a lot). There is enough weirdness surrounding this experiment to take up at least the top five places by itself. For more on the elephant on acid, see: http://tinyurl.com/36tk8w West LJ, Pierce CM, Thomas WD. (1962). Lysergic acid diethylamide: Its effects on a male Asiatic elephant. Science, 138, 1100-1102. Harwood, P. (1963). Therapeutic dosage in small and large mammals. Science, 139, 684-685. 2) Terror in the Skies Imagine the reaction of an institutional review board (IRB) if it received a proposal for this experiment. But the United States Army don't need no stinkin' IRBs (or else they didn't exist yet). 4) The Look of Eugh, and come to think of it, 5) Reversing Death, and 8) Two-headed Dogs Same thought about the IRBs. We've come a long way (I think). 9) The Vomit Drinking Doctor Absolutely the most disgusting experiment ever carried out. Nothing even comes close. For more revulsion from this one (if you can stand it), go to the newer essay in _New Scientist_ Eight scientists who became their own guinea pigs (March 11, 2009) http://tinyurl.com/alwp3n The one with more on the vomit drinking doctor is the first one, headed "The vomit sauna" Don't you just love lists? Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: [email protected] 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Subscribe to discussion list (TIPS) for the teaching of psychology at http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
