Weird Experiments of Ordinary People

Self-development experts recommend that everyone should step out of their comfort zone from time to time to become the "best version of themselves": to improve, refine, and expand their professional skills and personal qualities. Experimentation is believed to help develop flexibility, improve quality of life, find harmony with oneself, and, if necessary, adapt more quickly to a changing, competitive, and information-saturated environment. But sometimes, on the path of self-discovery, people, without any external stimulating factors, come to some rather strange experiments, sometimes risky or downright dangerous to health and life.

500 days in a cave alone

In April 2023, Beatriz Flamini, a 50-year-old extreme athlete from Spain, apparently received a shock of information. That's because starting from November 21, 2021, only books, water, and food were delivered to the 70-meter-deep earthen cave where Beatriz spent 500 days without interruption, but not news or gadgets.

The Spaniard's voluntary solitary confinement was under the supervision of doctors and psychologists, and now, upon its completion, they will have to make their own research and conclusions about the consequences of rejection of society for a modern person.

Beatriz herself said that somewhere between 160 and 170 days she lost track of time spent in hermitage, and later she began to experience tangible auditory hallucinations produced by her brain during moments of complete silence.

McDonald's for 100 days

Dietitians and nutritionists better look away, because the global concept of healthy eating may not be able to withstand the results of an experiment conducted by Kevin Maginnis. After 100 days of eating exclusively McDonald's food, he lost 50 pounds (22.6 kg). His new weight was 179.5 pounds (approximately 81.5 kg), and his blood sugar level returned to normal.

Under the conditions Kevin set for himself, he was allowed to choose any food from the McDonald's menu, including snacks and sweets, but he would eat only three meals a day, cut his order portion in half, not order desserts or sugary drinks, and drink about 2.5 liters of water daily.

Despite the success of this experiment (in fact, Kevin himself agreed that at the end of the 100-day fast food diet he wanted a regular steak), nutritionists note that in addition to controlling calories and reducing sugar consumption, it is worth paying attention to the daily salt intake, which is usually overestimated on fast food menus.

On a boat across the oceans 

Ukrainian Pavlo Rezvoy, aged 65 y.o., decided on a risky experiment. In 2004, the man boarded a single scull called Marion Lviv and set out to conquer the Atlantic Ocean.

In 61 days, Rezvei covered 5,500 kilometers, entering the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest person to do so. A year later, the man embarked on another experiment. This time, the solo voyage lasted 67 days. The Ukrainian rowed across the Indian Ocean, earning a new title - the fastest rower to ever cross the Indian Ocean.

Pavlo Rezvoy became the third person in the world to cross the ocean by rowing, and the second to cross both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in his lifetime.

Five years of forest loneliness

Duong, a Vietnamese man, has been living in a forest near a lake for more than 5 years, using handmade items to arrange his everyday life. He was too poor and worked physically hard, but he realized that the craft skills he had learned from his grandfather were enough to live with minimal consumption of modern goods.

Duong captures his life on video and uses it to raise funds for his experiment and to buy goods and services he cannot produce himself, such as video equipment and internet connection. But he makes his own household items, even iron tools such as knives, sickles and hoes. He has made his own furniture and utensils from bamboo, wood and palm leaves. Duong has a water mill, a loom, a fish tank, a mini-farm, etc.

Four liters of water per day

Drinking 2 liters (30 ml per kilogram of weight) of water a day is the average daily intake for a normal healthy person. But after noticing that she was only drinking one glass a day, British woman Stephanie Hope decided to increase consumption and drink a gallon of water (about 3.7 liters) every day for a week.

To do this, she purchased a bottle of the right size, set a reminder to drink water evenly throughout the day, and then began experimenting with flavors by adding berries, herbs, or fruits to the water.

The main conclusion of the experiment was that drinking enough water is very important. On the second day, Stephanie felt a surge of energy that lasted throughout the experiment, although she jokingly wrote that it was a constant need to go to the bathroom. She also noted improved digestive motility, the disappearance of hormonal acne on her skin, and improved sleep quality.

10,000 steps a day

Michael Hicks had a sedentary remote job and, despite jogging regularly, was slightly obese and overweight. After he wrote a review about the accuracy of smartwatch pedometers, he received comments that the 10,000-step daily requirement was just a marketing ploy.

Although most studies confirmed that it is not necessary to walk exactly 10 thousand steps, the journalist adhered to this rule throughout August 2023. So after 376 thousand steps in a month, he was able to

improve his digestion and eating habits; lose 7 pounds of weight; reduce his body fat ratio by 2.4% to 23 (with the norm for men being 19%).

The combination of walking and regular running also helped to lower blood pressure and steady heart rate, accelerated recovery from days of running training, and generally improved cardiovascular health.

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Experiments on oneself can be weird and shocking, meaningless and effective, but the main thing is that they are conscious and responsible, not forced and life-threatening.

Currently, Ukrainians are forced to participate in an "experiment" to test human capabilities, when they have to survive in inhumane conditions of occupation, shelling, and risks to physical and mental health. However, despite the difficulties, there are many people who have learned to consciously set new goals and develop themselves even under forced circumstances.