Evil Science Experiments: The Results Of Injecting People With The Ingredients Of Nuclear Bombs
What plutonium can do in a nuclear bomb–and this is what was actually injected into subjects’ bodies. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
In the ’50s and ’60s, there was hardly a quicker way to get your research funded by the U.S. government than to pitch the idea of exposing people (especially minorities) to ridiculous amounts of radiation to see what would happen. Some of the highlights:
As part the program to develop nuclear weapons, unsuspecting soldiers and patients at a Chicago hospital were injected with some of the weapons’ chief ingredient: plutonium. Unsurprisingly, only about one in four lived long enough to hear about what had been done to them.
Cornelius Rhoads was widely hailed as a hero during his lifetime. Image Source: elmuertoquehabla.blogspot.com
Dr. Cornelius Rhoads, cancer researcher and future member of the Atomic Energy Commission, injected Puerto Ricans with active cancer cells to monitor the results–they, of course, died.
According to a cheery note written by Rhodes: “The Porto Ricans (sic) are the dirtiest, laziest, most degenerate and thievish race of men ever to inhabit this sphere…I have done my best to further the process of extermination by killing off eight and transplanting cancer into several more.”
Dr. Eugene Saenger, under the guise of treatment, exposed dozens of African-American patients to over 20,000 x-rays’ worth of radiation. It was enough to cause severe pain, bleeding, and at least 20 identifiable deaths.
In the 90s, the families of some of Saenger’s patients sued him, eventually winning a $3.6 million settlement.
If you enjoyed this article on the most evil science experiments in history, be sure to read our collection of interesting articles and a shocking look at pollution in China. Then, read up on the horrific experiments of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. Finally, check out ten fringe sciences that are as fascinating as they are terrifying.
