i find the story of albert hoffman synthesizing lsd to be entirely unbelievable. he details it in his book and the story is:
- in 1938 he had a list of compounds to synthesize and inject into mice
- most do nothing, one of them, the 25th item in the list, causes restlessness. he notes this and moves on to the next
- none of the many compounds tested produced any significant results and nothing comes of this
- 5 years later he just one day remembers that one lsd compound, number 25, that produced restlessness and decides to remake it and ingest it himself
this is the kind of totally unbelievable macguffin type stuff you see written into the 7th movie of a long series when they run out of ideas. this is like when a show jumps the shark with some flashback to an earlier season with a “it was planned all along” trope
His research was on compounds related to ergotamine. It was not some random adventure, the fungus that produces it has a long history of use by midwives as folk medecine and is still used today to treat postpartum hemorrhage. Now, what piqued his curiosity? Did he have knowledge about the "dancing plagues" and the theories they were caused by ergot contaminated grain and if he did, did he make the connection to his feeling of restlessness?
Edit: He also spilled some on himself, it was not the mouse or whatever that was restless. It was him.
his research on ergotamine was in 1938. he randomly decided to recreate that specific lsd-25 in 1943. this is the crazy part: there’s a 5 year gap. why?
he writes in the book synthesizing compounds that are not under active research is not allowed by the lab. but something he couldn’t let go from 5 years ago got him curious
As I remember the story, a small drop of the stuff fell on his hand where the glove was not properly on, and he felt some effects. So he got curious and the next day he ingested a "small" dose of 200 micrograms.
It does seem surprising, but after working with medicinal chemists for many years, it really don't surprise me at all. Hoffman was brilliant, had an excellent memory and observational mind, extremely well trained, working in very well stocked labs, in a time when people didn't really think about chemical safety as much ("do not pipette by mouth") or worry about controlled substances. Of course, for some time after his discovery, Sandoz would send free samples to anybody who wrote in(!)
Probably also there was a lot of failure and frustration that just doesn't get written about, because it's less interesting.
Owsley Stanley was also quite impressive- beyond his ability to synthesize large amounts of very pure LSD in dodgy apartments, he helped revolutionize audio technology with the Grateful Dead. Much of what we appreciate in large stadium sound these days was a direct descendent of the ideas he and Meyer explored in the late sixties through the late seventies.
LSD is noticeable at 1/20th of a milligram and decidedly active at 1/10th.
One doesn't avoid that with meticulousness, it's protective gear or nothing. Hoffman had no reason to be wearing a hazmat suit, at least, none he was aware of.
There are very few substances with noticeable effects on the human body in microgram doses, not to mention the ability to cross the skin barrier. I think there is just maybe a dozen known toxins able to kill an adult in a dose below 1 milligram. I am not sure for those toxins the effective dosage was even widely known as cautionary tale, back then.
While I have not adhered to this personally, I think this very fair to say. I'd expand that to other drugs+intoxicants as well (which, again I have not adhered to personally).
- in 1938 he had a list of compounds to synthesize and inject into mice
- most do nothing, one of them, the 25th item in the list, causes restlessness. he notes this and moves on to the next
- none of the many compounds tested produced any significant results and nothing comes of this
- 5 years later he just one day remembers that one lsd compound, number 25, that produced restlessness and decides to remake it and ingest it himself
this is the kind of totally unbelievable macguffin type stuff you see written into the 7th movie of a long series when they run out of ideas. this is like when a show jumps the shark with some flashback to an earlier season with a “it was planned all along” trope
Edit: He also spilled some on himself, it was not the mouse or whatever that was restless. It was him.
he writes in the book synthesizing compounds that are not under active research is not allowed by the lab. but something he couldn’t let go from 5 years ago got him curious
Probably also there was a lot of failure and frustration that just doesn't get written about, because it's less interesting.
Owsley Stanley was also quite impressive- beyond his ability to synthesize large amounts of very pure LSD in dodgy apartments, he helped revolutionize audio technology with the Grateful Dead. Much of what we appreciate in large stadium sound these days was a direct descendent of the ideas he and Meyer explored in the late sixties through the late seventies.
One doesn't avoid that with meticulousness, it's protective gear or nothing. Hoffman had no reason to be wearing a hazmat suit, at least, none he was aware of.
It's enough to make one a bit paranoid even without partaking.
Edit: I just went and re ordered Albert Hofman's book LSD my problem child. Its been a long time but I remember it as being informative!