In 1963, two lads in the US came up with an idea for a school science project, but their experiment would have consequences that lasted for decades.
Randy Gardner, 17, and his mate Bruce McAllister needed to come up with an idea for a science fair project, and after putting their heads together, decided they wanted to beat the world record for staying awake.
“We were idiots, you know young idiots,” McAllister told the BBC.
“[The] first version of it was [to explore] the effect of sleeplessness on paranormal ability.
“We realised there was no way we could do that and so we decided on the effect of sleep deprivation on cognitive abilities, performance on the basketball court. Whatever we could come up with.”
In total, the teen managed to stay awake for 11 days (264 hours), breaking the record at the time and marking an end to the science experiment.
After being taken to the naval hospital, the 17-year-old slept for 14 hours.
SOURCE: pubity
