Professor Guinea Pig: Difference between revisions
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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.
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See also [[No Control Group]].
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{{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.
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** 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 it—keeping it out of his employer's hands aside, it was in the end an act of hubris.
** Incidentally, this habit went horribly wrong in the [[Elseworlds]] ''Mutant X''—one of his projects significantly damaged his intelligence, and he's no longer smart enough to undo the effects.
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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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** ''[[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.
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* [[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 ==
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* ''[[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 daughter—his back and spine are grossly distorted, implying a failed transporter experiment.
* 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}}.
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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
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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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'''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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** 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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* 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 away—so he injected himself. Apparently he's feeling better. (The article lists a few more examples of this trope, not all encouraging.)
* 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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