Governments conducted experiments on their own people for many reasons, but the United States took things up a notch starting in the 1960s. Several dozens of prisoners from Washington & Oregon were used as test subjects for something most would consider barbaric. The government used them to test the effects of radiation on testicles. Many were bribed with cash as well as the “suggestion” of parole if they took part in the experiment.
[Image via WikiHow]That resulted in 130 inmates agreeing to take part in the experiment. The U.S. Government used the University of Washington to conduct the tests. Yet no one seemed to realize how much radiation they were going to be exposed to. They were zapped with around 400 rads of radiation, equal to 2,400 chest x-rays. This would all happen within a 10-minute period. The prisoners did not learn how much they were exposed to until later on. In fact, in 2000, many sued the University over this in a class-action lawsuit. They eventually settled with them for $2.4 million.