Dr. Richter’s Diabolical Experiment

Ever heard of Dr. Curt Richter? Neither had I. During the time in the United States where nearly anything was done in the name of science (these days, not so much, now anything is done in the name of money) Dr. Curt Richter, a renowned physiologist and behavioral scientist, conducted his seminal experiments on rats. He presented his most famous experiment sometime in the mid 1950’s at Johns Hopkins University. These tests aimed to uncover the effects of despair and hopelessness on the survival rate of rats.

Apparently, the kindly scientist placed his beloved rats into buckets of water and began timing their frantic swimming. You see, the rats believed they were going to drown, and did whatever they could to save their pathetic lives. They didn’t realize that the good doctor had a gentle soul and would rescue them before their watery demise. But he didn’t. Not at first at least. And many rats met their maker after about 15 minutes of futile paddling.

The next round of rats were the lucky ones, although some would say unlucky. These pitiful fellows were observed until the indicated exhaustion time but then plucked up out of the water in the nick of time to be daintily dried off and set out to rest. Saved. A miracle for sure. And oh, what a relief.