Back in the 1930s, there were tons of odd experiments taking place. Of course, governments experimented on their own people quite often in this era. Some used blood from younger people and inserted it into themselves to make themselves younger, and much more. However, one experiment conducted by the United States involved literally trying to give people cancer! We’re completely serious, people. The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Investigations was responsible for “infecting” human subjects with cancer cells.
[Image via Crystal Light/Shutterstock.com]The man leading the project was Dr. Cornelius Rhoads. He actually helped to form the U.S. Army Biological Warfare facilities in Maryland, Utah, and even Panama. In each one, the government along with the Institute began a series of radiation exposure experiments on patients in both government and civilian hospitals. Most of the experiments were done on minorities, including African American, Japanese, and Puerto Rican Americans. In total, around 60,000 soldiers were included too. Most were left suffering horrible, lifelong side effects. None were actually able to be “given” cancer either.