NASA once funded an experiment that ended with Dolphins being injected with LSD, and a woman sexually relieving the dolphin of his sexual urges.
In the 1960s, NASA funded a study called “Mind of the Dolphin,” with the goal of understanding how dolphins think and communicate. The neuroscientist in charge of the project, John Lilly, decided to set up the experiment by pairing a woman and a dolphin to live together for an extended period of time, while also giving the dolphin LSD. It turned out to be a poor idea.
After 2 weeks into the experiment, Margret and Peter were living a normal life together, but there were no promising results as of yet.
So Doctor Lilly decided to give the dolphin some LSD to stimulate Peter’s brain in order to get quicker results or even better results.
This did actually have an effect on the dolphin as it made him uninterested in his communication lessons with Margret and actually made the dolphin horny, craving for Margret in a sexual manner.
This Is where the experiment gets very weird and really mind-boggling. Peter eventually started nibbling Margaret’s feet and legs, when his advances were not reciprocated, he became violent with Margaret.
Seeing that Peter was getting no attention, he began courting Margaret by gently rubbing his teeth up and down her leg and showing off his genitals. What is even more disturbing is that Margaret reciprocated and started rubbing the dolphin’s erection.
Margaret said: “It was sexual on his part – it was not sexual on mine, sensuous perhaps."
“It would just become part of what was going on like an itch, just get rid of that we’ll scratch and we would be done and move on.
However, when the experiment’s funding ran out the pair were separated and Peter was shipped 1,000 miles away to a small lab in Florida.
But it was too much for seemingly heartbroken Peter, who died just a few weeks later in an apparent act of suicide.
“I got that phone call from John Lilly. John called me himself to tell me. He said Peter had committed suicide,” Margaret told The Guardian.
The lab’s vet, Andy Williamson, attributed the dolphin’s death to a broken heart, stating: “Margaret could rationalize it, but when she left, could Peter? Here’s the love of his life gone.”
Ric O’Barry, from animal rights organisation The Dolphin Project, also backed the description of Peter’s death as “suicide”, adding: “Dolphins are not automatic air-breathers like we are. Every breath is a conscious effort.
“If life becomes too unbearable, the dolphins just take a breath and they sink to the bottom. They don’t take the next breath.”
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.