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{{trope}}
[[File:professorguineapig.jpg|link=Visual Pun|frame|"Professor? [[Oh, No, Not Again|Oh, no, not]] ''[[Oh, No, Not Again|again...]]''"]]
{{quote|''"September 13th, 11:56 PM. I have started this alone, and I must finish it... alone.
''I know now that I must use... myself... as the subject of the experiment."''|'''Dr. Henry Jekyll''', ''[[The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]''}}
So you're a bona fide scientific genius, and you've come up with a wonder drug that will allow people to live forever. So now you'll apply for approval from the FDA, right? Begin animal testing, assessing major organ toxicity in rats and small primates, then monitoring the subjects for carcinogenic effects and reproductive complications; who knows, if the drug behaves as predicted you could be doing Phase One clinical trials inside of five years.
Or, you could just mix up a batch of the stuff in your basement and drink it.
That's just what scientists do in fiction. They might go as far as trying out their incredibly experimental drug/strength ray/time-altering device/etc. on a squirrel or something first, but the point is that they move onto human testing quickly, usually without any safeguards or anyone observing, and they use themselves as a test subject. They might have their
It does, however, make them more [[Rule of Empathy|sympathetic to the audience]] than strapping some [[Innocent Bystander]] [[Strapped to An Operating Table|to an operating table]] or starting a [[Guinea Pig Family]]. Only [[Obviously Evil]] [[Mad Scientist
The more cartoonish the show, and the crazier the scientist, the more blatant this trope becomes. A [[Looney Tunes]] cartoon might very well feature a scientist who, suddenly needing to be giant, just steps over to his array of beakers and retorts, mixes a bunch of [[Technicolor Science|funny-colored liquids]] together and drinks it.
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Believe it or not, [[Truth in Television|this was actually standard procedure]] in many fields of science until fairly recently. Even as late as the 1950's, chemists would create a new compound and ingest it to see what it did. It was not the healthiest of occupations; quite a few scientists did end up killing themselves via experimentation. It's still sort-of common; see the real-life examples down below.
See also [[No Control Group]].
----
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Yu Kaitou in ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' has the power to steal the soul of anyone who breaks the "rules" he sets down for his psychic territory. If he breaks his own rules, then his soul is separated from his body. How did he find this out? Why, he breaks his own rules on purpose, of course, forcing his friends seek out [[Mentor Archetype|Genkai]] to find out how to cure him before it's too late, which causes the events which kick off the prologue to the ''Chapter Black'' Saga.
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* Attempted in the anime ''[[Speed Grapher]]''; however, since the "experiment" involved {{spoiler|''raping a 15-year-old girl''}}, all for the better that it wasn't carried out.
* Somewhat used in ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'': the Pokémon researcher Bill stuffs himself inside a Kabuto costume to find out what it feels like. See the video games section for the more on-the-spot version from the games.
* {{spoiler|Kiriko}} resorts to this with the last vaccine in ''[[
* Averted in ''[[Franken Fran]]'': the eponymous character doesn't test a treatment she developed for aging on herself because, as she herself puts it, "It's just too scary~". {{spoiler|For good reason: she based it on telomerase...and cells that have too much of it turn cancerous. Her client, who ordered her killed so she could keep all the research to herself, ends up testing it by self injection...[[Laser-Guided Karma|and is]] [[Body Horror|ultimately turned]] [[Fate Worse Than Death|into a huge cancerous blob]].}}
* Kurotsuchi Mayuri of ''[[Bleach]]'' is obviously his own favorite test subject...although based on what is known of his personality, most of his "improvements" were probably perfected on the unwilling first.
** Mayuri's predecessor as the chief scientist of the Gotei 13, Urahara Kisuke, has also been known to do this. He invented a device that allows a Shinigami to achieve bankai (the final stage of their [[Empathic Weapon|zanpakuto]]), which normally takes decades if not centuries, in no more than three days. "No more" because if bankai isn't achieved within that time, the user of the device will ''die''. Urahara immediately used it himself.
* In ''[[Soul Eater]]'', one of the first things we learn about Franken Stein is that he is interested in observation and experimentation, where anything or one could be a test
** Sort of an odd example though in that we don't actually know what he did to himself. Yes, he has a stitch over his face but aside from that he doesn't look too different from his younger incarnation we see in flashbacks so it at least wasn't anything cosmetic. He's been hailed as a genius meister since before he had the scar and bolt too so it wasn't some kind of power augmentation. So far the bolt and scar on his face only seem to be evidence that he has done this, but the reason behind it has not yet been given.
* Averted with Dr. Gero in [[Dragonball Z]]: He turned himself into a cyborg, but [[You Are Number Six|his number]] shows, he was the last one instead of the first.
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== Comic Books ==
* Dr. Curt Connors in the ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'' comics tries using reptilian DNA to regrow his lost arm. Congratulations, Curt, now you're a violent half-human half-lizard monster. Bravo.
** He did try the serum on a rabbit first. I want to believe there's a super bunny/lizard hybrid with regeneration powers hopping around somewhere in the Florida swamps.
** The worst bit is that the superhero Komodo uses an refined form of his process to allow her to change at will into a lizard form that retains her consciousness and grows back her legs. So if he had just ''tested the bloody thing'' he might have been much more successful, possibly still at the cost of growing scales whenever he wanted to use his arm.
** Testing your own inventions on yourself is the fast track to [[Just Add Water|instant super-villainy]] in the Marvel universe. Especially if you have an unusual name that sort of sounds like the scientific branch you're currently researching.
* [[Batman]] villain [[Poison Ivy]]. Her powers and possibly her insanity stem from several experiments she performed on herself involving deliberate overdoses of plant and animal-based toxins. Many variations of the character have her aware of the dangers involved but not caring, being far more comfortable among plants than humans.
* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'': This is the origin of the original blue fuzzy status of Beast. In the X-[[Spider-Man]] crossover novel trilogy ''Time's Arrow'', a future scientist [[Lampshade Hanging|hangs a lampshade]] on Beast's testing an experimental serum by drinking it. McCoy has the grace to be embarrassed. His original intention was to use it as a means of disguise which he could use to spy for his employer, one which he would reverse when his spying was done. (Yes, in those days Hank had a little problem with ethics.) However, it is true that Hank drinking the serum was a rather dumbass move to make, and Beast even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades this himself]], when he observes that he didn't ''have'' to drink
** Incidentally, this habit went horribly wrong in the [[Elseworlds]] ''Mutant X''
* Lampshaded in the recent ''[[Blue Beetle]]'' run. When Dan Garrett (having recently switched meds) decides to fly Jaime and herself into a volcano the following exchange occurs:
{{quote|'''Jaime''': You're sure this thing can survive a trip so far underground?
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'''Dan''': Oh, yeah. Whoops. }}
* In the ''[[Wonder Woman]]'' comics, The Cheetah turned herself into a human/cheetah hybrid this way, after her funding for whatever tests she was doing ran out and she started testing on herself.
== Fan Works ==
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* Pretty much everyone in [[Flatliners]].
* In ''[[The Fly]]'', the lead character tries teleporting himself, winds up switching heads with a housefly. The remake rationalized this simply enough -- [[Alcohol-Induced Idiocy|he was drunk at the time,]] having just rowed with his love interest.
* In the ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]]'' movie, Norman Osborn's company is about to lose a military contract and go under, thanks to a lack of successful human trials of a performance-enhancing drug. In desperation, he tests the drug on
* The ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' episode "[[The Projected Man]]" features a scientist who must quickly jury-rig a teleportation experiment to convince his [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] sponsors not to cut his funding. Unfortunately, the ditsy blonde secretary he enlists to helps him teleport botches the procedure and the machine explodes. The scientist then winds up getting his DNA mixed with that of a rat which had died in a previous experiment. Oh, and he also gets the ability to generate lethal electric shocks.
** He doesn't end up looking like a "rat man" though but rather like, as Crow remarked, "the British [[Batman|Harvey Dent]]"
** They had previously teleported a wristwatch, leading Mike to riff "Great, now he'll be half man, half wristwatch."
* ''[[Junior]]'' has [[Arnold Schwarzenegger|Dr. Hesse]] test an experimental drug for reducing miscarriages on himself due to being unable to get funding and test subjects. [[Mister Seahorse|He ends up pregnant.]]
* ''[[The Tingler]]''
* ''[[Hollow Man]]'' and its sequel both have the person who has taken the serum become a serial killer.
** The original did have extensive animal testing of the invisibility serum, but the head scientist fudged the results and took the serum himself. In that case, the big problem was reversing the invisibility process; the scientist thought that trying it on a human would provide better results and he was the only one willing to do it.
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* One that crosses it with [[Real Life]] was [[Super Size Me]] where the filmmaker ate nothing but [[McDonald's]] for a month and had the results filmed and monitored.
* One scientist does this [[Heroic Sacrifice|out of desperation]] in ''[[Contagion]]'' and {{spoiler|it actually works}}.
* Professor Brody in ''[[Cats and Dogs]]'' tests his allergy cures on himself. He does it three times that we can see in the movie: the first time, it doesn't work and he gets bubbles all over his skin; the second time, his nose becomes bulbous but at least he doesn't sneeze; the third time, it's the correct cure.
== Literature ==
* This is a staple of Invisible Man stories, including the [[H. G. Wells]] original, making it [[Older Than Radio]]. In [[The Invisible Man (novel)|the Wells story]], Griffin did test his process on a cat first, and he did have the excuse that he was kind of crazy.
** ''Invisible Man'' [70s] had the title protagonist begin to go crazy, but he also worked for the government.
** ''[[The Invisible Man (TV series)|The Invisible Man]]'' [2000] had the title protagonist become violent and psychotic, but there was a counteragent for this effect that had to be taken regularly.
*** Note that in this case the protagonist was the scientist's brother, and there had been previous testing done, albeit not with very encouraging results. The protagonist accepted this because [[Boxed Crook|the alternative was life in prison]] for a crime other than the one he actually committed. His brother also did know how to reverse the process...[[No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup|but didn't bother to tell anybody else or keep any records of it, so it became permanent when he was murdered]].
* Also turns up in a lot of [[Time Machine]] stories, once again, including the [[H. G. Wells]] original. ''[[Back to The Future]]'' is a rare example where
** He did intend for himself to be the first human test subject, with the space of time to observe negative side effects in said dog being a few minutes.
** In [[The Time Machine]] he at least has the presence of mind to build a proof of concept device first.
* In fact, it shows up in a lot H. G. Wells stories, period. Another example is ''The New Accelerator'', in which he tests out a drug on himself that makes him speed up by a factor of several thousand.
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* The [[The Igor|Igors]] of [[Discworld]] believe it is most ethical to test all of their latest medical procedures on themselves first. Kind of makes sense though, doesn't it?
* [[Harry Potter|Fred and George]] test sweets they've made that will cause sudden minor illnesses, allowing you to get out of class, on themselves. After they tried out the Nosebleed Nougat, their mother thought they'd had a fight. It doesn't get any worse than that, though. They try to test the sweets out on their fellow students, but Hermione stops them.
* The Operator in ''[[Duumvirate]]'' developed a retrovirus to bestow [[Transhuman
* Max Barry's ''Machine Man'' has Dr. Charles Neumann. An engineer at Better Future, Neumann doesn't design any artificial limbs he wouldn't try out himself.
* In Robin Cook's ''Acceptable Risk'', Dr. Edward Armstrong creates a new anti-depressant drug and decides to start taking it himself in order to streamline the clinical trial process. His team of researchers agree to take the drug as well. {{spoiler|Too bad it makes them start having sleepwalking episodes in which they behave like carnivorous reptiles}}.
* [[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]]: In a variation, [[The Professor]] Aronnax is willing to sacrifice his own freedom for the rest of his life [[For Science!|for the rare chance to discover all the sea’s secret in the Nautilus]]. Fortunately, he is not [[Guinea Pig Family|willing to sacrifice his friend’s freedom]] and leads them in their [[Great Escape]].
* A doctor in J.G. Farrell's ''The Siege of Krishnapur'' drinks the 'rice-water' from a cholera patient, to demonstrate his confidence in the miasma theory of disease transmission (the theory that diseases are the result of bad air). It doesn't go well.
== Live-Action TV ==
* In ''[[Quantum Leap]]'', Dr Sam Beckett was pressured to prove his theories or lose funding so he stepped into the project accelerator himself. This experiment wasn't exactly a resounding success.
** Exactly the same thing happens in the Sixties [[Time Travel]] show ''[[The Time Tunnel]]''.
* Although ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' didn't create the drug, he did test one created by his old college rival to combat migraines. He decides to become a sort of drug pincushion: First, using nitroglycerin to give himself a ''stonking'' great headache, then trying the drug (which failed) and finally ridding himself of it using ''LSD''.
** Don't forget the anti-depressants to counteract the LSD.
** And the six Vicodin he had probably already taken that day. House probably had enough drugs in his system to mildly discomfort Keith Richards.
* In ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', in the episode titled "Miri", our heroes are trapped on a planet and slowly dying from a disease that kills all adults. [[The McCoy|Dr. McCoy]] has mixed up what may very well be the antidote. Only problem is, he's not sure, and the only way to be sure is to check the Enterprise's computers, which can't be done because the local [[Creepy Child
* In the third season premiere of ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', Mohinder Suresh takes a syringe of Maya's blood/DNA/super-powered-[[Phlebotinum]] out onto a dock all by himself and injects it into himself. He gets insect-like super-strength, agility, and wall-climbing ability, but as a side effect appears to be mutating uncontrollably. The entire plot line appears to be a direct reference to the 1986 version of ''[[The Fly]]''.
* ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'' TV series. David "Bruce" Banner is performing experiments on himself to try to "tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have." An accidental overdose of gamma radiation interacts with his body chemistry to change him: whenever he gets angry he becomes the Hulk.
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* Subverted in ''[[Power Rangers Dino Thunder]]'' where Dr. Anton Mercer tries and tries to perfect a potion to free himself from his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] Mesogog, where Mesogog actually succeeds in perfecting the potion and capturing the scientist.
** Of course, Mercer experimenting on himself was what ''created'' Mesogog in the first place.
* ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]''. In the episode "Daedalus" Emory Erickson, the wheelchair-bound inventor of the [[Teleporters and Transporters|transporter]], is shown receiving an injection from his
* Semi-averted in an episode of ''[[The Saint]]'', where a man with a heart condition wanted to use cryogenics until open heart surgery was commonplace. He did several animal testing, and ''wanted'' to start human testing with [[The Hero|somebody else]], but at the end of the episode, Simon Templar escaped and a heart attack forced the man to enter his machine in emergency.
* ''[[V (TV series)||V: The Final Battle]]''. The dust used to kill the Visitors is tested on an alien prisoner. Then while the others are busy arguing about whether they should find a human collaborator to test it on, the [[Hot Scientist]] steps into the chamber instead.
* In the first nationally broadcast season of ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', as well as the one that came before it, Dr. Laurence "Larry" Erhardt was an involuntary version: Dr. Forrester would test experiments on him (often against his will.) The more interesting ones included cold fusion being created within Erhardt's mouth and making him sweat through his tongue. TV's Frank would later take on this role, but not technically being a scientist he's just a plain [[Guinea Pig]].
* On ''[[Lost]]'', it seems that Daniel Faraday {{spoiler|tested his [[Mental Time Travel|time machine]] on himself}} and only recovered from it gradually once near the Island. He also accidentally {{spoiler|used it on his lab assistant/girlfriend, unsticking her in time}}.
* In ''[[Sanctuary]]'' The Five all injected a serum based on pure vampire blood directly into their veins. The results were surprisingly beneficial.
* In ''[[Community]]'' episode "[[Community/Recap/S1
* This happens in several episodes of ''[[The Outer Limits]]''. The episode "Double Helix" lampshades it.
{{quote|'''Student''': Dude, you injected that stuff that made that fish grow legs into ''yourself''!?}}
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* The Progenitors from ''[[Genius: The Transgression]]'' have a whole transhumanist philosophy centered around this trope.
** The trope is also [[Enforced Trope|enforced]] by the game's [[Karma Meter]]: self-modification is a Transgression, but running risky and dangerous experiments on human test subjects (even willing ones) is a worse one.
* ''[[Warhammer
== Video Games ==
* Scientist William Birkin from ''[[Resident Evil]]'' injects himself with his experimental monster-making formula, which not only mutates him into an unrecognizable, gigantic, grotesque
** In fact, they had killed him, having just repeatedly shot him in the chest. Injecting the serum was a [[Emergency Transformation|last-ditch attempt to keep himself alive]].
** Alexia Ashford did the same thing, though only because she'd already messed around with her father and needed a new subject.
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* Professor Hojo in ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''. When the player party (some of its members being his former test subjects) finally confronts him, {{spoiler|he injects himself with [[The Virus]], claiming that he has, once more, succumbed to his desire for knowledge. As you'd expect from the dad of the [[Trope Namer]], he pulls a [[One-Winged Angel]] afterward.}}
* The game ''Dr. Muto'' has one as its protagonist, capable of collecting DNA from various creatures to mutate himself into various beasts.
* Implied in ''[[
* Implied to be what happened in [[Borderlands|Jacob's Cove]] when Dr. Ned, [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|who is totally not Dr. Zed]], began messing with scag DNA. The end result being a [[Zombie Apocalypse]].
* ''[[Portal 2]]'' reveals that Cave Johnson, the lunatic founder of Aperture Science, was not above testing his inventions on himself. This resulted in his death by Conversion Gel (moon dust) poisoning. Somewhat related, when his recruitment of [[Disposable Vagrant|street bums]] as test subjects had less than ideal results, he began encouraging his own employees to test the company's products, which had a negative effect on morale and retention. The next evolution of this seems to have occurred only after his death, with "[[It Got Worse|Bring Your Daughter to Work Day]]".
* Done by Dr Nitrus Brio in ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]'' at the end of the boss battle. Before that, he spends time throwing the beakers at you. The red beakers, properly mixed, become highly volatile, exploding when smashed, while the green ones release semi-alive brains that chase after you. Naturally drinking a mixture of both turns him into a giant green muscleman.
* According to what the Narrator of ''[[Darkest Dungeon]]'' tells us of her, the repulsive Hag was once a beautiful herbalist who experimented her concoctions on herself.
== Web Comics ==
* In [[Dead of Summer]], Alan Stone is this, testing {{spoiler|a 'cure' for zombiism on himself. When it fails, turning him into a monster, [[Moral Event Horizon|he uses it on his wife]]}}.
* [[Juathuur|I see]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20200107230644/http://oneway.juathuur.com/1/?strip_id=66 you have been experimenting on yourself again.]
* The Sparks of [[Girl Genius]] have a habit of "self-augmentation" just as much as experiments on other (often unwilling) patients.
* Ladies and Gentlemen, [http://nonadventures.com/2007/04/14/shark-and-shark-alike/ Dr. Shark]
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== Western Animation ==
* One of the enemies of ''[[Darkwing Duck]]'' did this: Reginald Bushroot, Ph. D., finds his funding cut. He tries his experimental procedure on a duck and ends up with a mutant plant-duck. The duck is, of course, himself. Once the science lab bullies ridicule him in front of the girl of his dreams, then the body count starts.
* In an episode of ''[[Justice League]]'', Batman wrangles this sort of confession out of Cheetah while a "captive" of the Injustice Gang. She was desperate and didn't have the funding to conduct controlled experiments, so...
** ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' (and the entire [[DCAU]], for that matter) started with an episode where a professor drank serum with bat DNA and became the Man Bat.
** In ''[[Batman Beyond]]'', Dr. Able Cuvier is the inventor of modern splicing
* ''[[Archer]]'':
{{quote|'''Krieger:''' I call it "Formula K."
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'''Archer:''' I'll pass.
'''Krieger:''' Suit yourself. ''(pops a pill)'' Just means more for me and Danny. }}
* Discussed in one episode of ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 series)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' where Krang explains why this is a bad idea; while he does intend to use his enlarging ray on himself, he "offers" to test it on Shredder first:
{{quote|'''Shredder:''' Why are you being so generous? I thought you hated me.
'''Krang:''' I do! There's a chance it might malfunction.}}
:*Naturally, this proves a good idea as the test run shows it is better to test such a device outdoors.
== Real Life ==
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** Read more [http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/LIBRARY/studies/cu/CU46.html#Anchor-49575 here.]
* The inventor of cardiac catheterization did the [[wikipedia:Werner Forssmann|first one to himself]], with an x-ray to prove it. He even tied his assistant to a table to prevent him from interfering after everyone told him the procedure was insane. He survived the procedure and eventually ended up with the Nobel Prize.
* [[wikipedia:John Stapp|Colonel John Paul Stapp]] (M.D., Ph.D) was an aeronautics expert involved in testing the limitations of the human body in high speed flight at the dawn of the jet age. Due to the lack of crash test dummies that could accurately model the human body or report on how they felt, Col. Stapp offered his services as a substitute. In 1947 the conventional wisdom that forces greater than 18G would prove fatal. After numerous tests in [[Rocket Ride|rocket powered contraptions]] Col. Stapp shattered this barrier and eventually reached 46.2G, a record which stands to this day as the highest g-forces ever '''''voluntarily''''' experienced by a human being.
** Predictably Stapp suffered repeated and various injuries including broken limbs, ribs, detached retina, and miscellaneous traumas which eventually resulted in lifelong lingering vision problems caused by permanently burst blood vessels in his eyes.
** Stapp is possibly one of the few crossovers in the category of of [[Badass Bookworm]] and [[Colonel Badass]]
* In order to demonstrate that stomach ulcers were caused by Helicobacter pylori, Barry Marshall cultured and drank a beakerfull. Along with his partner, he got a Nobel prize for this <s>idiocy</s> self-endangering behavior, which admittedly helped many people.
** This is a myth. See [https://web.archive.org/web/20131017114043/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/bacteria_ulcers_and_ostracism_h._pylori_and_the_making_of_a_myth this CSICOP linkl]. Basically, experimenting on himself demonstrated that these bacteria can make you sick, but not specifically cause an ulcer (which he didn't get), and his sickness went away without treatment. Furthermore, experimenting on yourself is a bad idea because you are a biased observer. They did get a nobel prize, but for the conventional research part of what they did, not for this stunt.
*** Having read the original paper as a student of pathology this troper can clarify that they did, in fact, demonstrate a link between the two, hence the Nobel Prize, ingesting micro-organisms to induce illness not being particularly original. Granted the prize was not for swallowing the broth, but the experiment did provide a valuable proof of the mechanism of intestinal pathology by the bacterium in question.
* Isaac Newton was a real-life example of this trope. In addition to looking into the sun through a telescope, he also forced blood to his head until he passed out, and ''jammed a bodkin'' ''[[Eye Scream|behind his eye]]'' to check if squashing it would make what he saw go blurry by changing the distance between the back of the eyeball and confirm it was a lens at the front.
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* Pellagra, a 'disease' caused by vitamin B3 (niacin) deficiency, used to be thought of as contagious until a particular scientist made the discovery that it was, well, just a vitamin deficiency, when he noticed that most cases happened in poor areas with people grouped tightly together. While that does obviously make it seem contagious, a closer look revealed that younger children, with weaker immune systems, seemed to be free of the condition. The answer was because they got supplies of milk for growth while others did not. However, where this trope comes into play is when the doctor in question published his findings in addition to the results of an experiment of treating test subjects with pellagra with niacin-rich foods. He was rejected because the scientific community refused to believe that pellagra just COULDN'T be infectious. So he, his wife, and 12 additional colleagues obtained the snot, vomit, feces, urine, sweat, saliva, and blood of pellagra victims, created pills of them, and swallowed them all. That proved their point.
* In order to prove that Irukandji syndrome was caused by the Irukandji jellyfish, Jack Barnes deliberately stung himself, his son, and a Lifeguard who happened to get the wrong shift that day...
* Meet [http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200212/200212_popsicle_splash.html Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht], AKA Professor Popsicle. He believes that the best way to study the effects of hypothermia on the human body is to subject himself to it. Repeatedly. By doing things like falling into frozen lakes, fully dressed.
* [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882304575465313342139200.html Dr. Stephane Huberty] has myasthenia gravis, a condition too rare to get much attention from researchers. He found out about a possible vaccine, only tested on animals, and set up a company to produce it. But clinical trials were several years and millions of dollars
* In a humorous example, writer [https://web.archive.org/web/20130407195535/http://www.ajjacobs.com/content/home.asp A.J. Jacobs] has become known for the single gimmick behind most of his books: live some unconventional way for a period of time, then write about it. His experiments include trying to live every word of the Bible literally, trying to follow George Washington's favorite code of etiquette, and outsourcing every aspect of his life to India. The results are, predictably, hilarious.
* The Nuremberg Code, formulated after the trials of the concentration camp "doctors," expressly forbids any form of human experimentation unless the doctors in question experiment on themselves - and treats even that exception as being ethically and morally dubious. No country has ever adopted the Nuremberg Code in its entirety.
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[[Category:Tropes On Science and Unscience]]
[[Category:Truth in Television]]
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