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Prepared to expand your mind?
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Welcome to WatchMojo.com and
today we're counting down our picks for
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the top ten people whose lives were
affected by LSD.
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Number ten. Timothy Leary. After being
exposed to the mind-opening properties of
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certain mushrooms,
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Timothy Leary became interested in the
comparable effects
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produced by LSD.
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The American psychologist then
undertook
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numerous experiments with the drug to
demonstrate its potential for
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therapeutic use.
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Many of his subjects spoke positively of the
experiences,
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though researchers later disputed some
results.
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Number nine.
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Doc Ellis.
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On June 12th
1970,
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Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Doc Ellis
played an entire game
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against the San Diego Padres while high
on acid,
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and threw a no hitter to boot.
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He ingested LSD without realizing he was playing that night,
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and through his haze, he managed to strike
out six batters.
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Meanwhile he thought the ball was changing sizes and that Jimi Hendrix
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and Richard Nixon were playing with him.
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Number eight. Jack Nicholson.
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Jack Nicholson may have acid to
thank for helping his Hollywood career take off.
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During the 1950s, the actor
participated in LSD experiments
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conducted by Dr. Oscar Janiger.
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These eye-opening experiences inspired him
to write the screenplay for The trip,
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which was an LSD-themed movie that
became a cult hit,
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and paved the way for his later success.
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Number seven. Ken Kesey.
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Before writing his acclaimed
novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,
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Ken Kesey experienced the effects of LSD
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in both professional and private
settings.
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He took various psychoactive
drugs as a test subject
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in the CIA's project MK-ultra and had
access to halluciongens while working at
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the State Veterans Hospital.
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These experiments inspired his 1962
novel
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and led Kesey to organize LSD-fueled
parties known as acid tests.
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Number six. Hunter S.
Thompson.
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When this American writer and journalist
wrote about himself and his work
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he often mixed real life with make-believe.
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This was the case with his most famous work
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the drug-filled Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas.
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It therefore shouldn't be a surprise that Thompson used
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alcohol, LSD and other chemical
substances during his lifetime.
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Number five. Aldous Huxley.
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The man behind the
dystopian novel Brave New World
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was an avid proponent of LSD and
psychedelic drugs during the 40s and 50s.
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The British writer even documented the
mind-altering effects of mescaline
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in his book The Doors of Perception.
However it was perhaps
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Aldous Huxley's last request that really
demonstrated the importance of
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these drugs in his life. While dying of
cancer he asked his wife to inject him with LSD.
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Number four. The Beatles.
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The Beatles were certainly not the only band
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to experiment with drugs,
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but they were definitely one of the
biggest and most popular to do so.
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The group may have gotten there first taste of
LDS by accident, but that
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fateful moment turned several members
into
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acid users thereafter. It was years
later that Paul McCartney
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finally validated longstanding
speculation about the tracks Day Tripper
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and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds by
confirming they were
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about drugs. Other notable musicians
associated with LSD
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included the Grateful Dead and Jimi
Hendrix.
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Number three. Kary Mullis.
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If it weren't for LSD, Kary Mullis may never have won
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the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1993.
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In his autobiography the American
biochemist confessed it was his
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drug of choice during the 60s and 70s.
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He further revealed that these
experiences helped him develop the
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technology for which he won the award,
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which was used to amplify DNA sequences.
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Number two. Steve Jobs. It may be
surprising to some
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but the late cofounder of one of the
world's most successful companies
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claim that taking LSD was one of the most
important experiences of his life.
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Steve Jobs called his
experiments with acid during the 1970s
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a magical and spiritual time. However he
also asserted
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they made him feel like an outcast.
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Ultimately Jobs believed his drug use
indelibly changed
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the type of leader he became.
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Number One. Dr Albert Hofmann.
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You wouldn't expect a
straight scientist to be a closet drug user,
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but it was actually a Swiss chemist who
first experienced
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the psychedelic qualities of LSD.
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Dr. Albert Hofmann synthesized
lysergic acid diethylamide
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in 1938 and deliberately ingested it
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five years later on April 19th 1943.
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His faculties were so affected by this
LSD trip that he had to be taken home
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on a bike by his lab assistant and that
day is now celebrated
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as bicycle day.
