crazy russian experiment

Why the Horrors of the 'Russian Sleep Experiment' Probably Didn't Happen

This animation investigates the facts behind this pervasive urban myth.

Especially if you haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately, you might wonder just how long you can go on like that. Exactly how long could you stay awake without cracking as a result of sleep deprivation? Some people say there was an over-the-top experiment for that. Experts are quick to debunk it.

The Russian Sleep Experiment is a popular urban myth which began to circulate online in "creepypasta" forums (so-named for the ease with which you could copy-paste spooky content) in the early 2010s. But could this deeply unsettling legend have had some roots in fact?

The story goes that Soviet-era scientists created a stimulant which they believed would enable soldiers to not require sleep for up to 30 days. They decided to test their new gas on five prisoners, promising them their freedom upon completion of the experiment. They locked the five men in a hermetically sealed chamber and began pumping in the gas. Within a few days, the men were exhibiting the kind of paranoia and psychosis that is a typical symptom of sleep deprivation. But as time went on, they began to act even more strangely.

15 days into the experiment, when scientists could no longer see the men through the thick glass of the chamber, or hear them through the microphones, they filled the room with fresh air and unlocked it. There, they discovered that one of the men was dead, and the four surviving test subjects were all sporting horrendously violent injuries, some of which appeared to be self-inflicted.

Attempts to sedate the men were either unsuccessful, or led to their deaths the moment they lost consciousness. Finally, when one of the researchers asked what exactly these men had become, the last surviving test subject told him that they represented the potential for evil that exists in all human beings, which is usually contained by sleep, but had been unleashed by their constant wakefulness. Chilling stuff.

Is any of the Russian Sleep Experiment actually true?

Experts are quick to refute this myth as well. There's no scientific ground proving that gas (or any other substance, for that matter) can keep a person awake for 30 days, says Po-Chang Hsu, MD , an internal medicine physician and medical content expert at SleepingOcean. “Some drugs and high caffeine dosages may grant a couple of days without shut-eye, but 30 is impossible,” he says.

Additionally, this experiment is unlikely because of the effect sleep deprivation has on the brain, Dr. Hsu says.

“Even after a few days, a person can start hallucinating, which would make it extremely hard for them to perform simple daily actions, let alone deal with military assignments that require extreme focus,” he says.

So how long can someone truly stay awake?

The current documented world record for staying awake is a bit longer than 11 days , which was achieved by Randy Gardner in 1963. Gardner experienced severe behavioral and cognitive changes during those 11 days (even though he wanted to prove that nothing bad would happen when a person doesn’t sleep), Dr. Hsu says. He also experienced mood swings, memory issues, severe difficulty focusing, paranoia and hallucinations.

While there is some truth to the claims that amphetamines have been used to keep soldiers alert in historical times of war, there is no scientific evidence of a gas existing that could keep anyone awake for 15 days. And studies have found that after just 48 hours without sleep, people tend to become slower, disoriented, prone to making mistakes, and ultimately less effective as a soldier.

“Since the brain can’t function properly after being sleep-deprived for 11 days, it’s safe to assume things would get much worse if one tries to stay awake longer,” he says. “Consequently, those soldiers would’ve been useless even if they miraculously managed not to sleep for 30 days.”

Still, whoever came up with the story of the Russian sleep experiment in the first place deserves points for their creative writing... if not for medical accuracy.

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How the Russian Sleep Experiment became a global phenomenon

In the 1940s, a group of Russian researchers sealed five prison inmates in an airtight chamber.

The prisoners were dosed with an experimental gas that would prevent them from sleeping. Their conversations were electronically monitored, and their behaviour was observed through secret two-way mirrors.

For the first few days, everything seemed fine. But after the fifth day, they slowly began to exhibit signs of stress. They became paranoid and stopped talking to one another, whispering about each other into the microphones.

Nine days in, the screaming began. Two of the sleepless prisoners just started running around the chamber, yelling so hard their vocal chords nearly broke.

Suddenly, however, the voices stopped, and the chamber became dead quiet. Fearing the worst, the researchers announced that they were opening the chamber. But a voice from inside answered: "We no longer want to be freed."

On the 15th day, the stimulant gas was replaced by fresh air. The results were chaotic.

One inmate was dead. The inmates had been severely mutilated, flesh torn off their bodies and stuffed into the floor drain. They seemed to have ripped open their own abdomens, and even eaten their own flesh.

They refused to leave by force, fighting back with a powerful aggression none of the researchers could have imagined they possessed. They fought furiously against being removed and anesthetised; one even tore his own muscles and ripped his bones apart during the struggle. When asked why they had mutilated themselves, each gave the exact same answer: "I must remain awake."

The researchers wanted to kill the prisoners and remove all traces of the experiment, but their commanding officer demanded it be resumed immediately, with the researchers joining the inmates in the sealed chamber. Horrified, the chief researcher shot him point blank.

He then shot and killed the two last surviving subjects, and set about covering up all that had taken place.

WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?

Okay, first thing's first: that story didn't actually take place in real life.

The creepy picture of the chamber above? An artistic illustration digitally altered by a random internet browser. Sorry.

Entitled 'The Russian Sleep Experiment', it's an internet legend of which the oldest version can be traced back to a Creepypasta Wiki page on August 10, 2010. The user who posted it is named 'Orange Soda', but the author's real name is unknown.

To this day, internet users continue to debate the veracity of this infamous story, despite the fact that it originated on an online forum thread devoted to seeing who can drill up the best "urban legend".

You've read stories like this. There was Slender Man, the story of a lanky faceless giant who frequents children's playgrounds. He gained the most attention when he inspired two young girls in Wisconsin to attempt to brutally kill their friend (unfortunately, that part was true). Then there's Jeff The Killer, the chalk-faced teenager-turned-murderer who goes insane and becomes a bloodthirsty psychopath.

The thing is, when you first read these horrific stories, they almost seem just realistic enough to work. After all, scientists have been studying the effects of sleep deprivation throughout the 20th century.

Even today, there are wide reports of meth-induced hallucinations resulting from a lack of sleep. Why wouldn't a story of a crazy Russian experiment from the 1940s seem plausible?

After careful analysis, Sara McGuire of Venngage has shared a visual report detailing exactly what it takes for a horror story to go viral.

HOW TO CREATE A VIRAL HORROR STORY

McGuire read and analysed samples of 72 top 'Creepypastas' across the internet.

She then identified the seven most common ingredients used in the top stories. In order from most to least common, they are:

UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENON (71 per cent)

The report found that humans are most thrilled by the unknown; things that we will never understand. The story needs to involve a strange occurrence or creature whose origins are unknown, but has a lasting impact on our psyche.

FIRST-PERSON NARRATIVES (68 per cent)

The report argues that if a story is told as a personal account, there's always the possibility that it might be true, even if you know it realistically couldn't be. The Russian Sleep Experiment was actually the only story of the top 10 that wasn't told in the first-person voice.

MONSTERS AND SUPERNATURAL BEINGS (61 per cent)

The success of the Russian Sleep Experiment is attributed to the fact that the "monsters" actually come from a very real, human place, which seems to make them more plausible. This also explains the popularity of the Slender Man.

CLIFFHANGERS (53 per cent)

This is common in horror movies, or even just book chapters and TV shows. You leave the reader or viewer with a chill and keep the mystery alive. The report notes this is especially effective in cases where the reader is left to question whether something similar could happen to them.

MURDER (46 per cent)

It goes without saying that most people are afraid of murder, which is why it's a plot device in almost half of these stories.

CREEPY IMAGES (24 per cent)

Fun fact: Slender Man originally started as a Photoshop contest. Users on a forum were asked to digitally alter an ordinary photo to create a creepy internet legend. And it can be really hard to shake a disturbing image.

CREEPY VIDEOS (6 per cent)

The rarest of the ingredients, only two Creepypasta stories originally used a video, according to McGuire. She notes that most of the time, videos are created by fans of a viral story after it's already become famous.

McGuire's report found that stories which used four of these ingredients - no more, no less - gave a story the best chance at going viral. The Russian Sleep Experiment is the most viral 'Creepypasta' story on the internet, with a total of 64,030 shares. It used four ingredients: an unexplained phenomenon, murder, monsters (in this case, humans-turned-zombies) and a series of creepy images of poor black and white quality to suggest they authentically match the time period.

So that's that. If you want to go viral, McGuire says there are some basic rules to comply with:

• Tell a personal anecdote where possible. It will make you seem more relatable to the reader and it can be used in virtually every writing context to add colour to a story.

• Get your Photoshop on. Obscure, creepy images that aren't quite bad (or polished!) enough to be false tend to work very well. Slender Man is a perfect example.

• Leave readers wanting more. Cliffhangers are deliberately frustrating. You want a satisfying ending or conclusion, and instead, you're left filled with questions. Readers are more likely to share these types of stories because they're more debatable.

Alternatively, just shut down your device now and walk away. These stories alone are creepy enough to keep us up for two weeks straight - no experimental gas required.

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The Russian sleep experiment is often used as an example of the horrific experiments humans have carried out on each other – only, it never actually happened.

Dr. Russell Moul

Science Writer

Russell is a Science Writer with IFLScience and has a PhD in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology.

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Did you get got by the urban legend? 

Image credit: Navid Linnemann/Shutterstock.com, modified by IFLScience 

In 1947, a covert Soviet test facility carried out experiments into sleep. The researchers took several test subjects – prison inmates – and sealed them in an airtight space that was then filled with an experimental stimulant gas designed to prevent sleep. Over the next few weeks, the researchers planned to observe their hapless test subjects by way of hidden microphones and two-way mirrors.

At first things ran smoothly, but after a week the test subjects began to exhibit signs of stress. They became withdrawn and paranoid, whispering into the microphones about their fellow inmates. But then, a few days later, the screaming started. The prisoners suddenly turned frantic, they ranted and raved, and screamed themselves horse. Some apparently screamed so hard they practically ruptured their vocal cords. And then it all went silent.

The experience was terrifying, so the experimenters tried to stop the study and open the chamber. However, they were stopped from doing so when a voice, one of the prisoners, announced “We no longer wish to be freed”.

By the time the researchers cut the gas and opened the chamber a few days later, most of the inmates were dead, apparently having mutilated themselves or one another. Some had reportedly resorted to cannibalism. Those who remained alive were in a state of psychosis, refusing to leave and refusing to sleep again. Of course, the Soviet authorities tried to remove all evidence of this grisly event from the record.

If you are familiar with this story, or some version of it, then congratulations, you have come across an urban legend that has made its way onto the internet in recent years. The Russian Sleep Experiment , as it is known, was originally a creepypasta story – a kind of short horror story designed to sound plausible – that has now mutated into a living urban legend. Much like the popular Slender Man that lurked and crept its way from a work of internet fiction to very real tragic events , the Russian Sleep Experiment now has a life beyond the authors who originally created it.

But what makes stories like this so “believable”? Or, to put it another way, why do some stories become urban legends when others do not, and why do we accept them?

A new folklore 

Urban legends are effectively a form of modern folklore. The stories can vary in their content, from the mundane culinary experience – the Kentucky fried mouse story – and creature sightings – alligators in the sewers – to the supernatural encounters like Slender Man and the Vanishing Hitchhiker . All these stories are united by a sense of strangeness, albeit to varying degrees, as well as a sliver of believability.

This is an important factor for a budding urban legend. No matter how ridiculous, or worrying the content, it has to have a small amount of credibility to survive. This is usually achieved by combining elements of the familiar with the unfamiliar, but only in measured doses.

Previous research into the popularity of folk stories, such as those in the Grimm Brother’s fairy tales, has shown that the more popular narratives are those that only use a few supernatural components. For instance, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella are fantastical stories with a few references to the weird, but they are also recognizable and extremely popular. In contrast, The Donkey Lettuce (sometimes Cabbage), which appears in the same collection of stories is filled with supernatural elements and yet is barely known.

It seems our minds have a credibility threshold beyond which our critical thinking starts to object. The same may be true for urban legends. If they include too many surprising details, then the story becomes less enjoyable or believable.

The psychology of urban legends

In terms of psychology, this could be explained in relation to thinking styles and what is known as the dual processing model . According to this idea, we have two ways of processing information that are distinct but nevertheless interrelated.

Essentially this is a kind of “system one” and “system two” approach, Dr Neil Dagnall , a cognitive and parapsychological researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University, told IFLScience. The former favors emotional, instinctive, and subjective evaluations and the latter focuses on objective and critical thinking. 

[P]eople are likely to engage with urban legends because they're interesting anecdotes or something topical. So [people] latch on to it from that subjective side, and then are less interested in validating its accuracy and more interested in the story for the story's sake. Dr Neil Dagnall

Although these processes work in parallel, each style draws on different cognitive resources. Critical thinking , which relies on established rules of logical reasoning, is more mentally taxing. It’s intentional and attentional, whereas emotional thinking is less demanding, relying on general cognitive processes to interpret information, and is mostly automatic.

Previous research into dual processing theories has found that belief in paranormal phenomena is closely related to “system one” thinking, that is, intuitive rather than critical thinking. So perhaps something like that is happening with the belief in urban legends.

“[P]eople are likely to engage with urban legends because they're interesting,” Dr Dagnall explained. “They're nice little stories, or they're interesting anecdotes, or something that's topical. So [people] latch on to it from that subjective side, and then are less interested in validating its accuracy and more interested in the story for the story's sake.”

This explanation contrasts with others that try to view humans as simply being prone to believing outlandish ideas, that they are generally non-discerning. Or, as psychologist Gordon Pennycook argues, humans will generally believe “ bullshit ”.

Essentially, this suggests some people are simply not discerning and will rely on system one thinking. They are not particularly selective with the information they believe and instead endorse things that are not true. As such, they will believe any form of bullshit, from urban legends to paranormal events to ridiculous conspiracy theories .

But Dagnall believes there is more going on here. We know, for instance, that even within the conspiracy theory world, believers in one claim may not necessarily believe in another. For instance, he explains, “I might think Elvis faked his death, I might think Elvis was murdered, but I don't necessarily think that's true of Marilyn Monroe.” Equally, someone who believes in the Flat Earth conspiracies may not necessarily believe in aliens or be opposed to vaccinations.

Although it is true that people who believe in conspiracies often do have other unusual beliefs, the situation is more complicated and contextual than simply saying they just believe “bullshit”.

Even “within people who engage with urban legends,” Dagnall says, “they're going to be more critical of some of those urban legends than other ones, and the degree to which they're susceptible to them will be influenced by other factors, such as how plausible they think they are.”

At the same time, because of the rise of the internet and social media, how such stories spread has changed. Not only is it easier for people to circulate various new urban legends across the internet, but many of us are also too busy to apply critical thinking to everything we see.

“There’s less opportunity to evaluate stories or to deal with them...," Dagnall notes. "[I]n the past, if you just get it in an email and you may get a precautionary thing, it's more likely to be the focus of your attention. Now, you just get them popping up all over the place.”

This returns us to credibility. Good urban legends are stories that have something believable about them. So the alligators in the sewers story, for instance, works well because it has historical precedence in places where they are native. It is therefore plausible that alligators or crocodiles may have infiltrated other sewer systems, even in places like New York City .

This too is true for the Russian Sleep Experiment story. The Soviet Union is remembered as a cruel and barbaric regime that demonstrated a staggering disregard for human life, especially under Joseph Stalin. Couple this with contemporary stories about unethical human experiments, such as those performed by the Nazis in the Second World War , or the CIA's Project MKUltra and you have the framework for a believable narrative about abused inmates and sinister experiments.

So like any worthy urban legend, the story may not be true, but for some it may nevertheless feel like it could be.

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Was the Russian Sleep Experiment Real?

An account describing the horrific results of a 'russian sleep experiment' from the late 1940s is a work of modern creepy fiction., david mikkelson, published aug. 27, 2013.

About this rating

A popular creepy online tale of a "Russian Sleep Experiment" (with the improbable title tag of "Orange Soda") involves Soviet researchers who kept five people awake for fifteen consecutive days through the use of an "experimental gas based stimulant" and opens as follows:

Russian researchers in the late 1940's kept five people awake for fifteen days using an experimental gas based stimulant. They were kept in a sealed environment to carefully monitor their oxygen intake so the gas didn't kill them, since it was toxic in high concentrations. This was before closed circuit cameras so they had only microphones and 5 inch thick glass porthole sized windows into the chamber to monitor them. The chamber was stocked with books, cots to sleep on but no bedding, running water and toilet, and enough dried food to last all five for over a month. [Remainder of article here .]

This account isn't a historical record of a genuine 1940s sleep deprivation research project gone awry, however. It's merely a bit of supernatural fiction that gained widespread currency on the Internet after appearing on Creepypasta (a site for "short stories designed to unnerve and shock the reader") in August 2010.

By David Mikkelson

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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What was the Russian Sleep Experiment?

Did the Soviet government create zombies through a ruthless experiment?

As legend has it, the story took place in the late 1940s, when WWII was over but Joseph Stalin still remained all-powerful. On a well-guarded secret base, a research group conducted a cruel experiment on five GULAG prisoners. They were promised freedom in the event that they would last 30 days in a chamber filled with a psychotropic gas depriving them of sleep.

Dreamless monsters

In the course of the five days, the situation went out of control - the subjects blocked observation and went all kinds of crazy, screaming and moaning. Then they turned completely silent for several days, and when the scientists broke into the chamber, they saw the unspeakable: the subjects tore most of their skin off of their bodies; blood covered the floor.

Somehow, the mutilated prisoners remained alive, pleading to turn the stimulant gas back on, screaming that they “must stay awake”. When the research group tried to immobilize them, the subjects showed astonishing strength, even killing some of the soldiers who were helping the scientists.

Eventually, the subjects were pacified. One of them, instructed to asleep, died immediately after his eyes closed. The rest were killed while trying to break out.

Before shooting the last subject, one researcher screamed: “What are you?!” And that mutilated, blood-covered body answered with a terrifying smile:  “We are you. We are the madness that lurks within you all, begging to be set free at any moment in your deepest animal mind. We are what you hide from in your beds every night. We are what you sedate into silence and paralysis when you go to the nocturnal haven where we cannot tread.” So he said, before the researcher shot him in the head.

Sounds creepy?

If you bought any of this, you are probably new to the Internet. This ‘Russian sleep experiment’ is a 10-year-old urban legend. Its origins trace back to the CreepyPasta website, where you can enjoy the story in all its full glory (like feces covering the windows, a KGB commander forcing the scientists to join the subjects in the chamber and so on). But the original story is even older, written for an online forum challenging users to make up the scariest “urban legend”.

And boy, did it spread far and wide. Articles and videos with names like “was the Russian Sleep Experiment real?” are numerous. Some websites, even Russian ones, still post the story hoping to elicit real horror, adding comments like “the origin of the leaks is still a mystery” at the end. Yeah, right.

The story couldn’t be true for so many reasons we’d need a separate text to list them all. Let’s just focus on the obvious ones:

1. It didn’t make any sense for scientists to let the subjects “hide” in their chamber for several days without observation.

2. No gas that can stop humans from falling asleep is currently known to science.

3. If you tear away your skin, you die from blood loss. Or did that gas turn the subjects into some quasi-immortal creatures?     

Overwhelming success

The legend remains popular even after a decade. “The Russian Sleep Experiment is the most viral ‘Creepypasta’ story on the internet, with a total of 64,030 shares,” journalist Gavin Fernando wrote in 2016.

Seems about right: this hoax became so huge, it ended up inspiring a novel, a short film (where the GULAG prisoners are for some reason replaced with Nazi war criminals) and an upcoming full-length psychological thriller by young Irish director John Farrelly.

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Fact Check: 'Russian Sleep Experiment' Was NOT Real Event

• Jan 25, 2022
• by: Lead Stories Staff

Was the "Russian Sleep Experiment" a real historical event? No, that's not true: The "experiment" is a product of the creepypasta genre -- which consists of user-generated, horror-related content that spreads easily online -- and is not based on a historical account.

The claim, which has appeared in various iterations online, reappeared in a Facebook post (archived here ) on February 1, 2020. The post included a black-and-white image of a human-like creature and opened:

The Russian Sleep Experiment purports to recount an experiment that took place at a test facility in the Soviet Union in the late 1940s. In a military-sanctioned scientific experiment, five political prisoners were kept in a sealed gas chamber, with a continually administered airborne stimulant for the purpose of keeping the subjects awake for 15 continuous days. The prisoners are falsely promised freedom if they complete the experiment.

The post went on to describe how the political prisoners gradually, then swiftly, spiraled into violence and self-mutilation. The subjects all eventually died.

This is what the post looked like on Facebook on January 25, 2022:

The story of the Russian Sleep Experiment has been debunked by numerous outlets, including Snopes . According to a video created by Creepypasta Wiki , the story seemed to have originated in 2009 on an online forum. The story then appeared on the Creepypasta Wiki website in 2010 and was posted by a user known as Orange Soda.

The picture used in the Facebook post is of a Spazm prop, a Halloween prop of a monstrous-looking human in a straitjacket. That image can be found in a popular YouTube video of a reading of the Russian Sleep Experiment here and in the screenshot of the video included below:

(Source: YouTube screenshot taken on Tue Jan 25 18:36:00 2022 UTC)

The story may have been inspired by the unethical experiments committed against human subjects during World War II, particularly those that took place in Nazi concentration camps . However, there is no legitimate record of the Russian Sleep Experiment.

Lead Stories is a fact checking website that is always looking for the latest false, misleading, deceptive or inaccurate stories, videos or images going viral on the internet. Spotted something? Let us know! .

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How The Chilling Myth Of The Russian Sleep Experiment Turned Into An Urban Legend

This article contains graphic descriptions of graphic violence. 

The phrase "Russian sleep experiment" might ring a bell for internet veterans. It might also evoke an indelible, single image: An emaciated, fiendish victim with recessed gums and horrifying fangs clutching himself on a bed in a concrete room (via  iHorror ). For the uninitiated, the Russian Sleep Experiment is one of the more notable creepypastas — the internet slang term for horrific urban legend-like short stories or vignettes circulated online — that folks have mistakenly taken for the truth. The tale has grown to legendary status, milling through hundreds of websites since its birth in 2010 on  Creepypasta Wiki  under the title "Orange Soda" (via Snopes ).

Part of the viral success of the Russian Sleep Experiment centers on the specificity of detail, enough to lend itself to plausible believability. The truth of the matter is that  actual Soviet experiments were often so disturbing, absurd, and sickeningly perverse that we might as well add the fictionalized version of the Russian Sleep Experiment into the mix. We're talking Frankensteining dogs, breeding human-chimpanzee hybrids to make "humanzee" super soldiers, and many, many more (via The Courier-Mail ). Is it any wonder why the Russian Sleep Experiment comes across as real?  

From the mind of Orange Soda

We should do a refresher for those who haven't read the Russian Sleep Experiment, available in its original form on Creepypasta Wiki . (Note that the story, which observes five test subjects locked in a prison-like Soviet-era sleep deprivation experiment, is littered with cues that it's fake.) It starts by highlighting just enough details to create a portrait of believability that makes other, later details seem true: "closed-circuit cameras," "five-inch thick glass porthole sized windows," "cots to sleep on but no bedding," etc. It then fast-forwards through the initial, more humdrum stages of the 30-day experiment to zoom in on grotesque, lovably described body-horror imagery that the writer clearly loved drafting. All these elements no doubt helped the tale gain traction.

In the story, nothing really crazy happens to the five test subjects until day five, when they start to display paranoia and aggravation about the test. The "experimental gas stimulant" used to keep them awake continues being pumped into their enclosed test chamber, and by day nine, one of the subjects starts screaming until he ruins his vocal cords. Two other guys then cover the portholes with feces to obscure sight into the room. From then on, researchers have no way of knowing what's going on inside the test chamber aside from the chamber's microphones. And so, the reader is placed in the position of the researchers, waiting for the chamber to be opened. 

Worst weight loss routine ever

As the original tale on  Creepypasta Wiki says, the researchers in charge of the experiment decided not to open the feces-smeared door to the sleep deprivation chamber. On the 14th-day, they used an intercom to speak to the test subjects for the first time, offering to end the experiment. A voice came back on the microphone: "We no longer want to be freed." 

From this point — about halfway through the creepypasta — the Russian Sleep Experiment veers into the truly disturbing and starts to resemble grindhouse fiction. Practically the entire rest of the story is devoted to details about the various grotesqueries discovered in the testing chamber when the researchers opened it on the 15th day (at the stroke of midnight, no less). We're not going to go into some of the more nauseating descriptions, but suffice it to say the subjects engaged in cannabilism and self-evisceration, and four out of five had somehow not died. When soldiers went in to remove them from the room, the subjects fought back. 

Eventually, the subjects were brought to surgery. One begged for the surgeon to "keep cutting," and they all begged for the stimulant gas, saying they "must remain awake." The last one who died told the soldier's commander, "We are you. We are the madness that lurks within you all, begging to be free at every moment in your deepest animal mind."

Birth of a creepypasta legend

So it's pretty easy to see why, in general, the Russian Sleep Experiment caught on, right? It's got just enough realistic touches, just enough over-the-top nonsense, glosses over too-technical stuff that might turn away some readers, and gets right down to what body horror fans want: blood, guts, and the lightest touch of thematic relevancy about "the darkness of human nature" or some such thing. Plus, it employs legitimate real-world connections between psychoses, drug use, and sleep deprivation, as sites like the National Institute on Drug Abuse  discuss.

After it was posted in 2010 by Orange Soda, the Russian Sleep Experiment spread through the internet like wildfire. News Corp Australia summarizes how the creator of such a story, with almost near-scientific rigor and accuracy, can craft something that the public will latch onto. With the right elements of anecdotes versus overarching narrative, cliffhangers, murder, monsters or supernatural beings, unexplained phenomena, and so forth, a creepypasta is almost guaranteed to be a hit. A chart by Sara McGuire, former content editor and content marketing manager for  Venngage , does a superb job of portraying all such factors. As it turns out, the Russian Sleep Experiment simply incorporated the most elements of a successful story into one, single creepypasta. Voila, instant virality.

By 2013, Snopes  debunked the story, saying directly, "This account isn't a historical record of a genuine 1940s sleep deprivation research project gone awry." And yet to this day, some folks still wonder if it really happened.

Creepy pictures for creepypasta

When looking at why the Russian Sleep Experiment caught on so well, we can't discount the importance of pictures, as News Corp Australia explains. While the original creepypasta was mere white text on a gray background, somewhere along the line, someone attached a couple of clever pictures to the tale to illustrate its horror.

The most famous image associated with the story is the now-ultra-famous image we described earlier: an emaciated dude with bug eyes, recessed lips, and protruding fangs who is sitting on a bed and hunched over. Much as we hate to break the illusion, that image is just a black-and-white, fuzzy picture of a Halloween decoration you can buy at a place as mundane as Walmart , as a debunking video on YouTube explains. The prop was made by a company called Morbid Enterprises. Not to start another false tale here, but if someone from Morbid Enterprises was responsible for the original creepypasta or for circulating a picture of its product in conjunction with the story's virality, then kudos: they win the marketing game.

The other picture commonly associated with the Russian Sleep Experiment shows four guys in gas masks lined up against a wooden wall. Attentive readers will notice that the men are all wearing different masks, unlike any experimental design would necessitate. That's because the picture is a depiction of World War I gas masks from different countries: the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany.

Coming to a theater near you, again

At present, the Russian Sleep Experiment remains alive and kicking. In fact, it's developed its own cross-media cottage industry: films (on Bloody Disgusting ), books (on Goodreads ), fan pages (on Facebook ), artwork (on Pinterest ), music (on Soundcloud ), video games (on Roblox ), discussion threads (on Quora ), you name it. We're not saying folks are obsessed with the Russian Sleep Experiment, but we're also not exactly not saying it. That being said — fingers crossed for a Russian Sleep Experiment opera.

Taking a deeper look at films, we've got a video short from 2015 (via IMDB ), a teaser trailer for "The Soviet Sleep Experiment" from 2019 (on YouTube ), and another 2020 trailer for a different movie dubbed "The Sleep Experiment" (also on YouTube ). In 2018,  iHorror reported that a movie about the Russian Sleep Experiment was on its way, but it's unclear which version they were talking about. Other websites like GeekFeed describe the same. While all those films are in English, there's also a super low-budget, 7-minute-long, 2019 indie version of the tale by an independent Russian filmmaker who, if IMDb  is to believed, died "a few months" after the film premiered. It looks like "The Sleep Experiment" — apparently choosing to drop any reference to Russia — is set to premiere November 2022.

In the end, the Russian Sleep Experiment captures the imagination for what are doubtlessly revealing, disturbing reasons. And yet, this is what any good horror strives to do, if not any story, period.

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The Russian Sleep Experiment: A True Story?

Introduction.

A creepypasta is a type of horror fiction that is shared online. They are often short stories or images that are designed to scare or unsettle the reader. The Russian Sleep Experiment is one of the most popular creepypastas , and it has been around for over a decade.

The Experiment

The experiment was conducted in a secret Soviet laboratory during the Cold War. The five test subjects were prisoners of war who had been captured by the Soviets. The subjects were injected with a new experimental gas that was designed to keep them awake for up to 30 days.

The gas was a powerful stimulant that prevented the subjects from falling asleep. As the days went by, the subjects began to experience the effects of sleep deprivation. They became increasingly agitated and paranoid. They began to hallucinate and see things that were not there.

The scientists who were conducting the experiment were concerned about the subjects’ mental health. They tried to give the subjects sedatives, but the drugs were ineffective. The subjects became increasingly violent and aggressive. They attacked each other and the scientists.

The experiment was eventually shut down after only 15 days. The subjects were in a state of complete mental and physical collapse. They were taken to a mental institution, where they remained until their deaths.

The Subjects

The subjects of the experiment were all men, and they were all in good physical health. They were all young adults, and they were all from different countries. The subjects were not told what the experiment was about, and they were not given any information about the risks involved.

The names of the subjects are not known, but they have been given nicknames based on their physical characteristics. The subjects were:

The Leader : He was the oldest and most experienced of the subjects. He was also the most vocal and aggressive.

The Scientist : He was the only subject who was not a prisoner of war. He was a scientist who was working for the Soviets.

The Artist : He was a young man who was known for his paintings. He became increasingly agitated and paranoid as the experiment went on.

The Fighter : He was a young man who was known for his fighting skills. He became increasingly violent and aggressive as the experiment went on.

The Kid : He was the youngest of the subjects. He became increasingly withdrawn and childlike as the experiment went on.

The Aftermath

The experiment was a complete disaster. The subjects quickly began to experience the effects of sleep deprivation. They became paranoid and delusional, and they began to hallucinate. The subjects also became violent, and they attacked each other.

The experiment was eventually shut down, but it was too late. The subjects had already been irreparably damaged. They were all taken to a mental institution, where they remained until their deaths.

The Russian Sleep Experiment is a cautionary tale about the dangers of sleep deprivation. It is also a reminder that there are still many things that we do not know about the human mind. The experiment has become an urban legend, and it continues to be told and retold today.

The gas that was used in the Russian Sleep Experiment is a fictional substance. However, there are a number of real-world drugs that can be used to keep people awake. These drugs are typically used for medical purposes, such as treating narcolepsy or shift work sleep disorder. However, they can also be used for recreational purposes, and they can be dangerous if they are not used properly.

It is important to note that the Russian Sleep Experiment is a fictional story. It is not based on any real-world events. However, it is a cautionary tale about the dangers of sleep deprivation. Sleep is essential for our physical and mental health, and it is important to get enough sleep every night.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post about the Russian Sleep Experiment creepypasta. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below.

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Russian Sleep Experiment: Fact or Fiction?

May 4, 2024

Have you stumbled upon the spine-chilling tale of the “ Russian Sleep Experiment”? This urban legend, which gained traction in the early 2010s on creepypasta communities, has sparked curiosity and debates around its authenticity.

The story revolves around a horrifying experiment conducted by Soviet scientists to test a stimulant gas that could allegedly keep subjects awake for an astonishing 30 days .

As the narrative unfolds, it takes a dark and twisted turn, leaving readers questioning the boundaries of scientific ethics and the consequences of tampering with human physiology.

In this comprehensive article, we delve into the origins of this infamous tale, analyze the scientific plausibility behind its claims , and explore the enduring allure of urban legends in our collective psyche.

Table of Contents

The Russian Sleep Experiment Story

According to the chilling tale , Soviet researchers developed a stimulant gas they believed could keep soldiers awake for up to 30 days, providing a strategic advantage on the battlefield .

To test their creation, they selected five prisoners as unwitting subjects , promising them freedom in exchange for their participation.

The men were locked in a hermetically sealed chamber , and the gas was pumped in, as their behavior was meticulously observed through two-way mirrors and electronic recordings.

The story takes a disturbing turn as the days progress. Initially cooperative, the subjects gradually descend into paranoia, whispering accusations against one another.

By the ninth day, two inmates begin screaming uncontrollably, their vocal cords nearly rupturing from the intensity. Silence abruptly falls, prompting the researchers to investigate.

What they discover upon opening the chamber is a scene of unimaginable horror – one inmate dead, the others mutilated , with flesh torn from their bodies and stuffed down the drain.

Attempts to Contain the Situation

Faced with the grotesque aftermath , the researchers attempt to sedate and remove the surviving subjects, but they retaliate with a ferocity beyond comprehension .

One inmate even tears his own muscles and bones apart in the struggle. The commanding officer orders the experiment to be restarted immediately, with the researchers joining the inmates.

Terrified, the lead researcher shoots the commanding officer and the remaining subjects, desperately trying to cover up the incident.

Is the Russian Sleep Experiment Real?

While the tale is undeniably chilling , most experts agree that the Russian Sleep Experiment is likely a work of fiction.

The story’s sole original source appears to be a website dedicated to sharing spooky tales, with the author’s real identity remaining unknown.

The plausibility of such an experiment raises ethical concerns and serves as a cautionary tale about the potential consequences of unethical scientific practices .

Scientific studies have shed light on the actual effects of sleep deprivation , which are far less dramatic than the horrors depicted in the legend.

While sleep deprivation can indeed lead to cognitive impairment, hallucinations, and psychosis, there is no evidence to support the claim that a gas or chemical could keep someone awake for 30 consecutive days.

According to research, people begin to experience sluggishness, confusion, and an increased propensity for errors after just 48 hours without sleep .

While large doses of caffeine and certain medications may prolong wakefulness for a few days, the idea of remaining awake for an entire month is scientifically implausible.

The Risks of Prolonged Sleep Deprivation

Prolonged sleep deprivation can have severe consequences , including impaired immune function, increased inflammation markers, and a heightened risk of chronic illnesses.

These effects are gradual and do not manifest in the extreme and rapid manner described in the Russian Sleep Experiment tale.

How Long Can You Survive Without Sleep?

While the exact limit remains unknown , the longest documented period without sleep is around 264 hours, or slightly more than 11 days.

Beyond this point, the symptoms of sleep deprivation become increasingly severe, with individuals experiencing hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and potential psychosis.

Most people struggle to stay awake after just two nights without sleep, experiencing brief episodes of microsleep, where the brain enters a sleep-like state for up to 30 seconds at a time. These unintentional lapses can leave individuals feeling disoriented and bewildered.

Chronic Sleep Deprivation

Chronic partial sleep deprivation , which occurs when an individual consistently fails to get enough sleep over an extended period, is far more common than complete sleep deprivation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 35% of American adults do not get sufficient sleep each night, putting them at risk for various short-term and long-term health consequences .

Chronic sleep deprivation has been linked to an increased risk of obesity , diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic health conditions. It can also impair cognitive function, emotional regulation , and overall quality of life.

Russian Sleep Experiment: Stranger than Fiction?

While the Russian Sleep Experiment may be a work of fiction, it serves as a potent reminder of the power of storytelling and the human imagination.

The tale’s enduring popularity can be attributed to its ability to tap into our deepest fears and ethical concerns surrounding scientific experimentation and the potential consequences of tampering with the human body.

Ultimately, the Russian Sleep Experiment stands as a cautionary tale, reminding us of the importance of adhering to ethical standards in scientific research and respecting the boundaries of human physiology.

Its fictional status does not diminish its impact as a thought-provoking narrative that challenges our moral compass and prompts us to consider the limits of scientific inquiry.

Also Read This Post: Average American Bedroom Size Guid e

Is there any truth to the Russian Sleep Experiment story?

No, experts agree that the Russian Sleep Experiment is likely a fictional horror story with no factual basis.

How long can a person actually go without sleep?

The longest documented period without sleep is around 11 days, but most people struggle to stay awake after just two nights.

What are the effects of severe sleep deprivation?

Severe sleep deprivation can lead to hallucinations, delusions , paranoia, and potential psychosis, along with cognitive impairment and immune system dysfunction.

Can a stimulant gas keep someone awake for 30 days?

No, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that a gas or chemical could keep a person awake for 30 consecutive days.

What is the purpose of urban legends like the Russian Sleep Experiment?

Urban legends serve as cautionary tales, tapping into our fears and ethical concerns while exploring the potential consequences of unethical scientific practices.

Final Thoughts

The Russian Sleep Experiment , while a compelling and chilling tale, remains a work of fiction that serves as a cautionary reminder of the importance of adhering to ethical standards in scientific research.

While the story’s gruesome details may be exaggerated, it taps into our deepest fears and prompts us to consider the potential consequences of tampering with human biology and pushing the boundaries of scientific inquiry too far.

Ultimately, the enduring popularity of this urban legend lies in its ability to captivate our imaginations and challenge our moral compass, reminding us of the delicate balance between scientific progress and ethical responsibility.

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The Untold Truth Of The Crazy Russian Hacker

"What's up everybody? Welcome back to my laboratory, where safety is number one priority!" If this mantra sounds at all familiar to you, you're likely a fan of Taras Kulakov, the oddly charismatic YouTube sensation who works prolifically under the stage name  Crazy Russian Hacker . As of August 2018, Kulakov's ever-expanding series of "life hack" videos and DIY scientific experiments have raked in over 10 million loyal subscribers, earning him a  nomination  for the coveted "Best in DIY"  Shorty Award in 2016. (He was robbed!) 

It's not difficult to see the appeal here, as Kulakov is a man who clearly does it all: He soaks five-pound gummy bears in liquid nitrogen . He demonstrates what happens when you boil Coca-Cola  (and it ain't too cute). If you're curious, he'll even show you the proper way to devour chicken wings . Although he's inspired countless memes and loads of fan art  — and doesn't exactly seem like the introverted type — he's never once been profiled by a major news outlet, and he outright declined an interview request from  Business Insider in 2015. (Maybe he doesn't want to give away free content.)

For such a popular Internet celebrity , details on Kulakov are surprisingly scarce, but fans can pick up some fascinating slices of autobiography as they scour through his videos. From his wholly dismal days working at Walmart to his lifelong dream of becoming a champion Olympic swimmer , this is the untold truth of Crazy Russian Hacker. As the man is fond of saying: BOOM .

​He loved being raised poor and in a huge family

In April 2013, Kulakov listed his favorite experiment as " How to Peel an Egg Russian Way! " These days, he can happily chow down on a hardboiled egg and not have to fight for it, but apparently that wasn't always the case. In a 2016 Q&A video , Kulakov revealed he has "a lot" of brothers and sisters: two brothers, three sisters, one half-brother, and one half-sister, to be exact. 

"Growing up, I was never bored," he admits. In fact, his childhood home sounds like something of a madhouse: "It was never, never quiet," he says, and that's why he's now blessed with the ability to sleep in extremely loud situations. 

Growing up poor, Kulakov claims, was actually "pretty awesome," since everybody had to learn how to think on their feet. Every day, the kids would have to split their treats amongst themselves — the cakes, the cookies, the candy bars. Stakes were high: "If you split it unfair, one piece is way bigger than the other one ... I get the bigger piece." To sum up, he says: "I never regret having a big family."

Despite (or because of) all the brothers and sisters, Kulakov is still quite eager to have his own kids. "I really, really want lots of kids," he says, because kids are "fun" and they "keep you young." He's most looking forward to teaching his kids how to swim. 

​He's obsessed with American fridges

So Taras Kulakov doesn't live in Russia these days — he's in the  United States  now. He currently lives with two Siberian huskies,  Luke and Hugo , as well as a perilously cute Alaskan Malamute puppy named Gus  (a.k.a Pashtet ). As of his 2016  Q&A video , they shacked up together in a " very secluded farm " right outside Asheville, North Carolina and it's "so beautiful ... The climate is amazing." He's reportedly  surrounded by a "bunch of hippies" and lots of mountains, waterfalls, and forests. Kulakov has also lived in Virginia and Los Angeles, and says he moved to America in the hopes of finding " money, girls ," and a "better life."    

He claims he ultimately didn't find it hard to adjust to American life, but fondly remembers being transfixed by refrigerators when he first set foot on American soil. "I had never seen a big refrigerator," he explains — particularly a big refrigerator so full of groceries. "It was always empty for me."

Kulakov plans to continue living in the United States, but he's fond of travel and loves "all the countries." There's "something beautiful to see in each country," he muses. (His favorite subject in school was  geography, after all.) Although Kulakov's net worth was  reported to be $5 million in 2017, he still thinks it's too expensive to travel to all the places he wants to see in the world "so I'm going to try to pick the ones that I really, really want to go."

He was a hardcore swimmer

Taras Kulakov is a man who can do all the things. He'll teach you how to reuse the lids on Pringles containers , or demonstrate what happens when you dump thirty pounds of dry ice into a swimming pool. And if he happens to be near a pool that's full of water and not dry ice, Kulakov can swim like a fish. According to his 2016  Q&A video , for around 16  years , Kulakov had big dreams of becoming a celebrated Olympic Champion swimmer. (If YouTube hadn't entered the picture, he thinks he'd be a swimming coach.)

Kulakov, who stands at the  staggering height  of 6'7", took the sport quite seriously and would  practice twice a day, waking up at six o'clock in the morning to swim for two hours. After school, he'd go back to the pool until 6 at night. From the ages 8 to 18, he swan "non-stop." The routine made him feel like an adult, and the sport was his "passion." (His U.S. Masters  page breaks down some of his achievements.)

Unfortunately, it sounds like a handful of injuries  made Kulakov revise those dreams. He once cut his heel badly on a sharp tile at the pool, and had to go to the hospital, enduring four stitches without the aid of local anesthesia: "I had to pretty much bite into my sleeve, " he says. 

At least he still gets to wear goggles during his experiments. Well,  Sperian safety glasses, to be exact.

​Yes, he's really Russian

For reasons we don't entirely understand, Taras Kulakov is reportedly asked on the regular whether or not he's really Russian. "Some people still think I'm not Russian," Kulakov scoffed bemusedly in a July 2012 Q&A video . "And I don't know why. Tell me why people think I'm fake Russian." Well, it might be because he's sometimes confused with a man named Kyle Myers, as was the case in a 2015  Business Insider   article. As  Gizmodo  reports, Myers is a troublemaking gun enthusiast who makes his own YouTube clips under the name  FPSRussia . "Why would I be fake in any way?" Kulakov asks. "Why would I fake my art? Why would I fake Russian accent...?"

Kulakov unambiguously proclaims his 2016  Q&A video  that he was "born in the Soviet Union," where he reportedly lived for five years before it "fell apart." Prior to moving to America at the age of 19, he was allegedly living in Donetsk, and describes himself as "a refugee." He says his parents, brothers, and sisters all speak Russian. His mom is Russian, his father is Ukrainian.

As of September 22, 2016, Kulakov had been living in the United States for a decade, and started learning English when he was 19. He's a bit ashamed that he "still mess up English so bad." In the future, he hopes to collaborate with some of his fellow Russian YouTubers, so please keep your eyes peeled.

Another channel shows a different side of him

According to his 2016  Q&A video , Taras Kulakov had been creating YouTube videos for roughly six years at that point. But it took around three and a half years for Crazy Russian Hacker to come about. 

In a previous Q&A , Kulakov describes the origin of his more successful channel: One day, he simply got hold of a camera, a cord, and just started talking. BOOM. He says his first Crazy Russian Hacker video was a demonstration on how to walk on eggs without breaking them, and a bona fide YouTube sensation was born. (By the way, Kulakov happily admits he has absolutely no formal education in science whatsoever.)

He currently has a second YouTube channel called  Taras Kul , which still has the url  origami768. According to Business Insider , this was Kulakov's first-ever YouTube venture, launched in 2009. Originally, it was a place for him to explore his interest in origami, teaching viewers how to fold their own creations, like  raptors  and  swans . "It wasn't super popular," he admits, and that's what made him try "something else." That "something else" was, again, the Crazy Russian Hacker channel — a place to test out "crazy experiments, and people loved it."

Taras Kul is where he posts videos he isn't sure will fly on Crazy Russian Hacker, and it's also where you can get a more intimate view of the man's personal life. "It's kinda good mix to have two channels," he says.

​ Before YouTube fame, there were many dismal jobs

During a 2013 Q&A , a fan asked Taras Kulakov what his "real job" was, and Kulakov empathically responded: "I thought people know that YouTube is a job for some people like me." He adds that, "When you love your job, it's awesome."

In a 2012 Q&A , Kulakov claims he didn't speak English very well when he first moved to America, making it impossible to land a decent job. When he was about 18, he got his first job, working as a busboy at a restaurant called Cheetah's Cafe. (He visited the spot in 2018 for a giggle, finding it exactly as he left it.) "It was hard when I had to get a first job," he says in his 2016 Q&A . "And it was really hard to understand my manager; what they wanted me to do." 

Of all his jobs so far, it sounds like his least favorite was Walmart, where he worked for about a year and a half. "I hated the job," he admits. While there, he decided to start making YouTube videos so he could be his own boss, he said in 2012: "I don't want to work for anybody."

Tabloids just love how he opens tin cans

During his short but illustrious career, media coverage hasn't eluded Taras Kulakov. The very fact of his existence reportedly helps one Brooklyn Daily scribe peacefully sleep at night. Boing Boing  wants to tell you all about the time he munched on Durian, that "very smelly fruit." Meanwhile, Huffington Post is thankful for his advice on making potato chips in the microwave. For some reason, the British tabloids seem to be particularly fixated on him.  The Daily Mail  lovingly covered the video in which Kulakov dumped thirty pounds of dry ice into his pool, "making it bubble like a massive cauldron."

Then there's the Daily Star , whose editors were apparently quite smitten with Kulakov, particularly after the "YouTube star" showed us all "how to open a can with your BARE HANDS." In his video Zombie Survival Tips #20 , part of an ongoing series, Kulakov does indeed open up a can using only his hands, a slab of concrete, and the ineffable grace of God. As the tabloid reports, the video quickly "racked up 27 million views." In a feat somewhat typical of his life-hack videos, Kulakov upturns the tuna can on the concrete, rubbing it back and forth until the lid pops off. "Cat gonna survive too," Kulakov quips, as a feline nibbles delightedly from the now-open can.

Admit it: You're eager to try this the next time you make a tuna melt. 

He's a (not great) beekeeper

Here's a rather buzzworthy morsel. "A lot of you probably don't know that I'm a beekeeper," Taras Kulakov revealed during a 2016 Q&A  video. The YouTube star actually cared for seven hives until something went terribly wrong. In January 2018, he realized that the bees in six out of seven hives — all of which were in great shape in September — hadn't survived the winter. 

In a " little bit of a sad video " posted on Jan. 27, 2018, Kulakov said, "It's a huge setback. ... It's kind of devastating and discouraging." Nevertheless, he tried to remain positive and learn from his mistakes. He suspected moisture and condensation were to blame and caused his bees to freeze to death. He was pretty sure that feeding the bees sugar syrup in the winter may have also been a factor.

Well, Ron Miksha, the author of Bad Beekeeping Blog , didn't agree with those these theories. In a letter to Kulakov, he suggested "varroa mites and the viruses which mites carry" were the cause. Miksha suspects the hives were weakened by the mites, causing the bees to flee, and subsequently die from the cold and the "bloodsucking mites." Still, we're not here to play Miss Marple with a bunch of dead bees, so we'll move along.

P.S. This setback didn't make Kulakov retire from beekeeping. Instead, he plans to buy some new technology — like plastic bee hives that will keep the bees insulated — and keep on learning. 

Meet his fiancé Katherine

If you've ever visited Kulakov's other YouTube channel,  Taras Kul , you might be acquainted with his fiancé, Katherine. As of August 2018, the couple has been engaged for at least two or three years. Katherine ( Katie on Instagram) often pops up here. In a  July 2018 video , she helps her fiancé open a raft of fan mail, a pile of gizmos that include tape measures, batteries, an "On Air" button, and a chocolate bar packaged in an  iPhone box. "You look like you're on your way to some weird rave!" Katherine laughs, as Kulakov tries on   a new safety vest .

In a May 2018 video titled  "Are We Married?,"  the couple goes through the avalanche of responses they received after asking fans where they should get married: Asheville, North Carolina, or Las Vegas? "I really thought that more people were gonna say Vegas," Katherine revealed. "But it was 50/50," says Kulakov. Ultimately, it sounds like she's leaning towards Asheville, adding that "weddings just aren't my thing" because "it's a lot of time" and "money."

Despite the fact that it would displease their families, it sounds like Katherine is keen on eloping. She also wonders whether they should continue narrating their approaching wedding, or keep it all private.  Kulakov clearly wants to share the joy with his subscribers: "I think it'll be exciting to see the wedding in a blog," he says. "I think they will enjoy it."

Is he a plagiarist? A DMCA abuser? Dangerous to his fans?

To find even the lightest sprinkle of dirt on Taras Kulakov, you have to do some digging. The closest thing to a bona fide controversy involves a takedown video posted by fellow YouTuber Thunderf00t  in 2016, who accused Kulakov of being a plagiarist and abusing the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). Over twenty minutes long, the video compares some of Kulakov's experiments with similar experiments by other vloggers, basically accusing him of plagiarism. In reality, it's not exactly an Earth-shaking revelation, considering Kulakov freely admits he gets many of his ideas from widely available books. Also, who cares?

A bit more sinister: Thunderf00t infers that one of Kulakov's experiments was "pretty much suicidal." He felt that a " Homemade Air Conditioner " that uses dry ice could potential kill people if used in a room with poor airflow .  In the video's summary, he claims Kulakov "filed a DMCA takedown" of his original video, which "resulted in a strike against" his account, despite the claim being "baseless" in his eyes. Thunderf00t thinks the alleged move was disrespectful to his fellow YouTubers. He also says Kulakov frivolously invoked the DMCA, which he claims is a serious offense that amounts to perjury .

We're trying to get upset about all of this, but Kulakov just tested out a "Husky Coat Deshedder" on one of his dogs, and we're officially obsessed.  BOOM .

That Crazy Disturbing “Russian Sleep Experiment” Urban Legend is Getting Its Own Horror Movie

Several years back, an urban legend dubbed the “ Russian Sleep Experiment ” began to circulate around the internet, a Creepypasta that claimed Soviet researchers had used an experimental stimulant back in the 1940s to keep five people awake for 15 consecutive days. If you’ve never read the full Creepypasta, well, let’s just say things get crazy from there.

Like many internet urban legends, this one seems to be quite untrue, but we’ve just learned that the tale is being adapted into a feature film that just began shooting.

Barry Andersson is directing The Soviet Sleep Experiment , a psychological thriller based loosely upon the urban legend. The press release tells us that “Andersson has pulled together an ensemble cast of international actors to tell this suspenseful story of a married research team who, under close watch of the Red Army, set out to study the effects of forced sleep deprivation on four patients locked inside an observation chamber for 30 days.”

Dr. Anna Antonoff is played by Argentinian actress Eva De Dominici ( You Shall Not Sleep ), and her husband Dr. Leo Antonoff is played by Polish actor Rafal Zawierucha (Roman Polanksi in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood , due out in 2019). The USSR Captain Yegor Sokolov is played by Russian actor Evgeny Krutov ( Stranger Things Season 3) and represents the overshadowing Red Army back in Moscow overseeing the experiment.

The four test patients plucked from the gulag and promised their freedom in exchange for their participation include Chris Kattan ( SNL, A Night at the Roxbury ); Minnesota-based actors Charles Hubbell ( Walking With the Enemy ), Paul Cram ( Wilson ); and Michael Villar ( Skin ).

Andersson is partnering with Emmy and Peabody Award-winning makeup artist Crist Ballas (member of the Academy Award-winning team for JJ Abrams’ Star Trek ) to executive produce The Soviet Sleep Experiment . Ballas also serves as production designer for the film, which called for building a period-accurate Soviet bunker meant to resemble an isolated 1940s testing facility. He and his crew also built a Jules Vern-inspired chamber to house the four patients for the duration of the experiment.

Andersson hopes to start shopping the finished film in Spring of 2019 to potential distributors for release both domestically and internationally.

Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has four awesome cats. Still plays with toys.

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New clip from ‘the crow’ unleashes strong bloody violence in an opera house.

We’re just one week away from the release of Lionsgate’s The Crow  in theaters, a fresh new take on the iconic tale with  Bill Skarsgård  ( IT ) taking over the titular role.

The Crow  brings the franchise back to theaters on  August 23 . While you wait, Lionsgate has released a brand new clip this week wherein Eric Draven massacres his way through an opera house. Be sure to watch until the end for one of the nastiest kill scenes we’ve seen all year.

The new movie is rated “R” for…

“Strong bloody violence, gore, language, sexuality/nudity, and drug use.”

From director  Rupert Sanders , Skarsgård leads the cast of  The Crow , with  FKA Twigs  co-starring in the reboot.  Danny Huston  ( 30 Days of Night ) also stars, alongside  Laura Birn  ( Foundation ),  Sami Bouajila  ( A Son ), and  Jordan Bolger  ( The Woman King ).

In the new movie, “Soulmates Eric Draven (Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (FKA Twigs) are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right.”

Zach Baylin  ( King Richard ) and  Will Schneider  wrote the script, with the new movie of course based on James O’Barr’s original graphic novel that spawned a previous film franchise.

In the 1994 movie starring the late  Brandon Lee , Eric Draven’s fiancée is killed alongside Draven, setting the film’s revenge storyline into motion. It spawned a handful of sequels.

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7 Creepiest Science Experiments of All Time That Will Give You Nightmares

Scientists often run into doing crazy things in the quest of discovering something important. but some of these experiments aren’t just worthless but are unbelievably creepy..

Kashyap Vyas

Experiments in the Revival of Organisms

Techfilm Studio/Wikimedia Commons  

Science is a beautiful gift to humanity. It can tell us what is true over mere assumptions by validating the theories with practical experiments. The scientific experiments have often led to important discoveries that eventually helped the mankind to live a better life. Sometimes though, scientists in their quest for knowledge end up conducting experiments that are not only unethical but equally disturbing. The world has witnessed many of such spine-chilling and weird experiments that went badly wrong and even cost lives.

Here’s a list of 7 creepiest science experiments conducted ever that’ll surely give you nightmares:

You might have heard about the inhumane experiments done by Nazis during World War II. But they were not alone.

The Imperial Japanese Army’s Unit 731 carried out atrocities in the name of scientific experiments, some details of which are still left to be uncovered. It was until 1984 that Japan acknowledged about conducting cruel experiments on humans to prepare for germ warfare. Setup in 1938, the objective of Unit 731 was to develop biological weapons and was supported by Japanese universities and medical schools that supplied doctors and research staff to carry out such vile experiments. The unit used thousands of Chinese prisoners and Asian civilians as guinea pigs to develop killer diseases. The experiments included infecting wartime prisoners with cholera, anthrax, plague and other pathogens. Horrific still, some of the experiments involved vivisection without anesthesia and pressure chambers to identify how much a human can take before bursting. What’s creepier is that post-war American administration provided safe passage to some of those involved with Unit 731 in exchange of findings of their experiments.

Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment

The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male is infamous because of the tragedy it caused to people suffering from the disease in the name of free treatment. Between 1932 and 1972, 600 men were originally enrolled for the project, consisting of 399 with latent Syphilis and 201 as control group. Monitored by Doctors of U.S. Public Health Service, these men were given only placebos such as aspirin and mineral supplements, rather than treating with penicillin which was the recommended treatment at that time. The purpose of the study was to understand the effect and spread of the disease on human body. Because of the unethical considerations by scientists, 28 participants perished from Syphilis , 100 died because of related complications and more than 40 spouses were diagnosed with the disease, passing Syphilis to 19 children at birth. President Clinton is 1997 issued his apology to the survivors and families of the victims of the study, stating “The United States government did something that was wrong—deeply, profoundly, morally wrong… It is not only in remembering that shameful past that we can make amends and repair our nation, but it is in remembering that past that we can build a better present and a better future.”

Two Headed Dogs

Vladimir Demikhov was a successful surgeon and his studies have helped medical science to advance especially in the field of organ transplant and coronary surgery. Demikhov was the first person to perform a successful coronary artery bypass operation on a warm-blooded creature. But, behind his successful operations, there are few of his experiments that can make you feel uncomfortable. His famous two-headed dog experiment is one of them. He stitched the head, shoulders and front legs of a puppy onto the neck of a German shepherd. Although the surgery was a success as both dogs could move around independent of each other, they didn’t survive very long due to tissue rejection. Demikhov created 20 such two-headed dogs, but the highest one survived only for a month. While the experiment may sound cruel, it indeed helped in pioneering organ transplants in humans.

Testicle Transplants

In one of the most disturbing experiments, Leo Stanley, the physician in charge at San Quentin Prison in California surgically transplanted the testicles of executed criminals into living inmates. Stanley felt that males who committed crimes share a common characteristic – low testosterone levels and raising it would reduce the crime rates. More than 600 inmates became the victim of Stanley’s crazy theory, and when there was a shortage of human testicles, he went on to inject liquefied animal testicles into the prisoners. Stanley claimed that the experiment was a success by citing a Caucasian prisoner who felt “energetic” after transplanting the testicle from an executed African-American convict.

The Stanford Prison Experiment

In 1971, a group of researchers at Stanford University conducted an experiment to investigate the causes of conflict between prisoners and guards. 24 students were assigned the roles of prisoners and guards randomly and were put into a prison-like environment. Meant to last for two weeks, the study was abruptly ended after only six days, as it became difficult to control and maintain order. Despite being told not to use any form of violence, one in every three guards showed their tendency to abuse. Surprisingly, many of the prisoners accepted the abuses and led two of them to suffer emotional trauma. The study showed that how power of situations can influence individual’s behavior.

Zombie Dogs

Known as Experiments in the Revival of Organisms , Russian scientists Dr. Sergei Brukhoneko and Boris Levinskovsky released a video of dog heads that were kept alive by an artificial blood circulation system. Using a special heart-lung apparatus called the autojektor, the scientists showed dog heads responding to sound by wiggling their ears, blinking eyes and even licking their mouths. The experiment was repeated again by American scientists in 2005 by flushing all the blood from the dog and replacing it with oxygen and sugar-filled saline. After three hours, a blood transfusion and an electric shock the dogs were back from dead.

MKUltra is one of the most famous projects conducted by CIA to develop mind-control techniques that can be used against enemies during war. Lasted for more than a decade from 1950 to 1970, the project’s main goal was to remain ahead in the mind-control technology. But the scope widened eventually resulting into illegal drug testing on thousands of Americans. Using drugs like LSD and other chemicals along with other forms of psychological torture, the agency tried to alter brain functions and manipulate mental states of the people. The documentation related to the project was ordered to be destroyed completely, but in 1977 the Freedom of Information Act released more than 20,000 pages on the program.

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10 Shocking Soviet Experiments

by Elliot | Science

The Soviet Union was one of two superpowers of the world. In order to preserve their position they were dead set on developing new technology and biomedical practices. To do this, they would need to constantly seek to improve their understanding of science. And they were into science big time. Soviet scientists were notorious for their ruthless human and animal experimentation. But much of their experiments were of a completely different nature. They could be purely technological, relating to military capability or space travel. Space travel was the big one, with America competing with the Russians to put the first man on the moon. Ultimately, the Americans won – but the Soviets put the first human and the first animal in space. All this grew from the various experiments done by their scientists. Here are my top 10 most shocking Soviet experiments.

Flying Tanks

Sometimes Soviet experiments seem to have come straight from the minds of children. This is one of those. So one day, a Soviet scientist came up with the brilliant idea of flying tanks. Literally attaching wings onto a military tank. It’s the ultimate war machine! The Soviets made several attempts to create a flying tank but none of which were successful. It turns out flying tanks are just a dreadful idea. They swiftly realised it would never work, but it was one of the main Soviet experiments of the second world war. During the same period, the Japanese and British governments also attempted to create a flying tank – but they also failed. It was a different era.

Underwater Cities

The Ichthyander Project was the first of many soviet experiments into creating underwater spaces where humans could live for long periods of time. The first part of the experiment took place in 1966, and it was a complete success. A man lived underwater for 3 days inside a small metal habitat. Inspired by this, they decided to take it further. In the second attempt, they were underwater for two whole weeks. Further experiments attempted to create underwater habitats for scientific research – and some even wanted to create an underwater Soviet city. The underwater city never materialised, and was just a wild dream. As far as we know anyway.

Man-Monkey Hybrids

Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov was a real-life mad scientist. His ultimate goal was to create a hybrid cross between humans and apes. Some say the Soviets wanted him to create them an entire army of monkey-man soldiers. It is unknown whether this is true though. The vast majority of Soviet experiments into creating these hybrids involved artificial insemination. It was during the 1920s that these experiments were at their peak. Ivanov used human sperm on female apes. All of his experiments failed, of course. It was only a matter of time until the Soviet officials realised he was completely out of his mind. So in 1930, he was arrested and exiled.

The Soviet Union was America’s only major rival in the space race. Both sides wanted to reach the moon first. Both sides wanted to explore the possibility of space-weapons. In order to do any of this, they would first need the ability to survive space flight. Rather than just sending humans to space, they sent dogs. Space dogs became celebrities in Russia during the 1950s and 60s. It is thought that Soviet experiments involved sending over 50 into space during this period. Most of the dogs survived and were well taken care of. However, the first dog to be sent into space did die. And they didn’t expect anything different from her. She was just a stray dog who was found in Moscow. So they sent her into space.

The 2-Headed Dog

Like so many of the men behind Soviet experiments, Vladimir Demikhov was bloody insane. He performed a series of organ transplants from one animal to another animal. Some were successful, other were not. He is now notorious for his experiments involving head transplants. He genuinely attempted to take the head from one dog, and attach it onto another dog. The desired outcome was to have a 2-headed dog. The experiment was actually a success. And the outcome was caught on video – which you can see above. The new hybrid dog didn’t survive very long. But this experiment paved the way the head transplants of other animals. Perhaps Vladimir Demikhov’s true legacy is the modern plans to perform head-transplants on humans.

The Poison Lab

The secret police of the Soviet Union was notorious for it’s use of poison. And growing from this, they were also notorious for their poison facility. Known as ‘The Chamber’, it was the place you would never want to be taken. Because, here, you would be brutally experimented on. Prisoners would have all kinds of deadly toxins given to them with the goal of finding the perfect poison. They wanted a poison that was undetectable and untraceable, so that they could guarantee death and get away with it. The only way to find this type of poison was for them to test it out on different humans. And so they did so, regularly. This really was to be expected in a list of Soviet experiments.

Space Monkeys

Just like dogs, some Soviet experiments involved sending monkeys and apes into space. I guess because monkeys are more similar to humans than most other animals. But it weird because they continued launching monkeys into space even after they knew how to do it with humans. Most of the Soviet space monkeys were sent up there during the 1980s. One of the moneys who spent time in space was given to Fidel Castro as a gift. That monkey did more with it’s life than most humans do! Luckily, most of the poor things were put under heavy painkillers while in space. A few other countries have also sent monkeys into orbit, with Iran still doing it in 2013.

Lysenkoism was basically a pseudoscientific movement of maniacs. They followed the teachings of Trofim Lysenko, who was out of his mind. He was an adamant opponent to the field of biology for some reason. He just hated traditional biologists. He somehow gained the favour of Joseph Stalin, who was another maniac. The two of them joined forces to kill a whole load of biologists. Basically any scientist who objected to Lysenkoism was in big trouble… which was most scientists at the time. So they made it illegal for scientists to disagree with him. He was soon made director of the institute of genetics; in holding that position, his movement was one of the most disastrous Soviet experiments.

Experiments in the Revival of Organisms

In 1940, a bizarre experiment was recorded on video. The film is about 20 minutes long and it shows an attempt to bring a dead dog back to life. It shows the severed head of a dead dog connected to a machine. An artificial heart is part of the machine, pumping blood back into the dogs head. The bizarre thing is that it seems to have worked!! You can watch the experiment in the video above.

Russian Sleep Experiment

The Russian sleep experiment is an urban legend that some Soviet experiments involved sleep deprivation. These experiments caused the test subjects to transform into crazed monsters. Luckily, this never happened. The Russian sleep experiment is a complete myth… as far as we can tell anyway.

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Now is the perfect time for Ukraine to be experimenting with ways to catch Russia by surprise, war analysts say

• With Ukraine on defense on the front lines, it should experiment with catching Russia off guard, war experts say.
• Its ongoing incursion into the Kursk region of Russia has given Ukraine some newfound initiative.
• Ukraine has achieved repeated shock victories against Russia in scrappy, unexpected ways.

Ukraine faces a challenging defensive fight on the front lines for the foreseeable future, but that doesn't mean it can't get in a few good hits of its own against Russia.

While it waits to amass the ammunition, manpower, and resources to launch a large-scale, well-timed counteroffensive, Ukraine should experiment with ways to take the initiative and gain momentum, war analysts say.

Conflict experts from the American Enterprise Institute and Institute for the Study of War, Washington DC-based think tanks that have closely monitored the conflict, wrote in a new report that Ukraine should focus on conducting unexpected, shock upsets against Russia while the battlefield situation remains largely unchanged.

"Ukraine faces enormous challenges today and in the months to come," AEI's Frederick Kagan and ISW's Kimberly Kagan wrote with support from several other ISW conflict analysts. "Ukrainian forces," they argued, "are very unlikely to be able to initiate significant counteroffensive operations in 2024 and into 2025."

"Their ability to do so at all still rests on the accelerated and sustained provision of Western security assistance and the lifting of restrictions on the use of that assistance as well as on their ability to sustain an improved mobilization and training system," the Kagans wrote.

But that reality does not mean Ukrainian forces should, as the authors of the report noted, "plan simply to remain on the defensive for the indefinite future while trying to amass the resources needed for a counteroffensive."

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Rather, Ukraine should use this period as "a time of experimentation," they said, explaining that doing so "should increasingly let Ukraine challenge Russian forces for the initiative in parts of the theater while exploring opportunities for future, more substantial counteroffensive operations as conditions permit."

Such a strategy isn't necessarily new for Ukraine, which has repeatedly found ways to deal unexpected blows to Russian forces despite a grueling ground fight.

These actions include the Kharkiv counteroffensive, long-range drone strikes into Russia, and devastating naval drone operations in the Black Sea, among others, but perhaps the most prominent example is the ongoing Ukrainian surprise invasion of the Kursk region of Russia , a shockingly complex mechanized assault into enemy lands that has left Moscow scrambling.

Ukraine's intentions in this assault appear unclear, although recent comments from Ukrainian officials, such as a post on X from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , suggest Ukraine hopes to hold the territory as a bargaining chip, something to trade for Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.

Although details on the Ukrainian invasion are still limited, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi told Zelenskyy on Monday that Ukraine's troops had seized just under 400 square miles of territory, about the same amount Russia has captured in Ukraine this year .

Kyiv has played its cards close to the vest on this assault, keeping secret its plans, including from close partners like the US, suggesting that it can pull off surprise attacks that allow it to, at least temporarily, take the battlefield initiative.

Ukraine has grappled with leaks, attributing some of the failures of the 2023 summer counteroffensive to this problem, as well as constant battlefield reconnaissance and surveillance that makes it difficult to maneuver. But the battlefield is not completely transparent, as some observers have argued, and surprises are still possible. The initiative can be retaken.

The Kagans argued in their report that Ukraine cannot "resign itself to the supposed reality of permanent positional warfare" because doing so "will not liberate the strategically vital lands Ukraine must win back in order to be secure against future Russian aggression."

"It will also protract the war and dramatically increase its costs to Ukraine and to Ukraine's supporters," they said. "Ukraine should thus seek every possible way of restoring maneuver to this war as soon as possible, daunting though that task appears."

The Kursk invasion caught the Kremlin off guard, either because it didn't detect it or adequately respond to it initially. And it has notably left Russian President Vladimir Putin in a precarious situation yet again, raising questions on how he can prove to citizens that Russia can secure its border and maintain its costly war effort without bringing the conflict home any further.

Watch: What's next for the war in Ukraine?

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Dr Michael Mosley never expected to have diabetes. His mission to 'cure' his diagnosis put a global spotlight on intermittent fasting

It was a normal day in 2012 when Dr Michael Mosley made an appointment with his doctor.

The British television producer and presenter was worried about a possible melanoma on his skin that had been playing on his mind.

He rolled up his sleeve for a blood test before being sent away, left to wait for the results.

"Good news, your skin is fine," his doctor told him.

"Bad news, you've got type 2 diabetes."

The diagnosis would be the catalyst for a health journey that would bring Dr Mosley worldwide recognition, influencing the eating habits of millions and drawing criticism from other medical professionals.

Dr Mosley's body was found on the Greek island of Symi on Sunday local time, after he went missing last week while out for a walk alone during a holiday with his wife. 

Popularising intermittent fasting

Following his diabetes diagnosis, medication was instantly mentioned as the logical next step.

But Dr Mosley said, "no thanks".

"My dad had had type 2 diabetes and had died of complications, even though he was taking the medication," he said in an interview with The House of Wellness in 2020.

"So I thought, this is not a good way to go."

Dr Mosley had previously heard about intermittent fasting and immediately started researching.

"Like you, I thought it was crazy," he admitted.

His research led him to get in touch with neuroscientist Mark Mattson, who published a paper on the 5:2 diet with 15 other scientists the previous year.

The 5:2 diet is a type of intermittent fasting where calories are restricted for two days of the week, with normal calorie intake for the other five days of the week.

At this point, Dr Mosley had been working with the BBC for decades and had presented and produced a number of science programs.

He couldn't deny his diagnosis would make compelling viewing.

"I persuaded the editor of [BBC science program] Horizon … to commission a film to see if I could cure myself of diabetes through intermittent fasting," he said.

Dr Mosley had no inkling his experiment would work, but remained optimistic.

At the end of the program, Dr Mosley had lost 9kg and his blood sugars were "entirely fine."

The episode drew a surprisingly high audience of 3 million viewers, particularly as it aired during the London Olympics.

"I was absolutely astonished, I have to say," Dr Mosley said on reflection once the experiment was complete.

"And I didn't really understand it."

Diabetes 'in remission'

Dr Mosley has said, "at each stage, I've relied on other people's science".

In order to understand what just happened to his body, Dr Mosley got in touch with Professor Roy Taylor at Newcastle University.

"He said, basically it was a rapid weight loss that had led to the fat draining out of my liver and my pancreas," he said.

Dr Mosley said Professor Taylor had already demonstrated in a dozen patients that you could "put diabetes into remission".

"That's the word he uses. He doesn't like the word 'reverse' because reverse implies it's permanent and if you put the fat on again, then there's a good chance it will come back.

"He's the guy who explained the science to me, he had all the science behind him, he was one of the world's leading diabetes specialists … and no one believed him. All the other doctors said this was nonsense.

"He said, 'I'm seeing all these patients who are losing weight, their diabetes is going away — explain that.'"

The bestseller and the 'fasting frenzy'

Soon thereafter, Dr Mosley paired up with food and fashion writer Mimi Spencer to write The Fast Diet.

The book became a bestseller in the UK, with the New York Times saying Dr Mosley had "sent the British into a fasting frenzy."

Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall wrote in The Guardian that he felt "lean and sharp" on the diet, adding "I feel I might just be part of a health revolution".

But the book's success was not without its criticism.

Shortly after its publication, Britain's publicly funded National Health Service (NHS) put out a statement on its website.

"Despite its increasing popularity, there is a great deal of uncertainty about IF [intermittent fasting] with significant gaps in the evidence."

And while scientists had done plenty of research on the benefits of intermittent fasting on rats, there weren't many trials done on humans.

According to Diabetes Australia, intermittent fasting can be safely undertaken by someone with diabetes, but there are some considerations, including first speaking with your doctor beforehand.

"Studies are limited to a time frame and whether individuals can sustain intermittent fasting long-term is unclear," the Diabetes Australia website states.

Years later, in 2021, Dr Mosley would present a Channel 4 series called Lose a Stone in 21 Days.

The program claimed individuals could drop 1 stone (6.4kg) in 21 days by calorie restricting to 800 calories a day.

Beat, a UK charity supporting those affected by eating disorders, wrote that "the programme caused enough stress and anxiety to our beneficiaries that we extended our Helpline hours to support anyone affected and received 51 per cent more contact during that time".

From medicine to television

Born in Calcutta, India, Dr Mosley moved to England with his family when he was a child.

He studied philosophy at Oxford University before later moving into medicine with the intention to become a psychiatrist.

But in 1985, a disillusioned Dr Mosley joined a trainee assistant producer scheme at the BBC.

He produced a number of programs, including the 2004 series Inventions That Changed The World with then Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

His influence also spanned to Australia.

In 2021, he presented the series Australia's Health Revolution for SBS, which was followed by Australia's Sleep Revolution three years later.

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