9 Most Shocking Experiments In Human History

An appalling study of the effects of untreated syphilis in African-American men began in Alabama in 1932.

The experiment was carried out by The Public Health Service and the men were promised free medical care for life, burial insurance, and to be fed during the experiment. These promises turned out to be the first of many lies.

622 men took part in the study. Of that number 431 had previously contracted syphilis and 169 did not have the disease. They were told the study would last six months, but it actually lasted 40 years.

After the funding for the experiment was lost, the scientists continued with the study without telling the men that they would never be treated.

Even after the discovery that penicillin was an effective treatment for syphilis, the men were kept sick so the experimenters could see how the illness would progress.

Eventually news of the experiment was leaked to the press in 1972 and the study was ended. During the study 40 wives contracted the disease and 19 children were born with congenital syphilis.