Laughing Gas: A Brief History

Nitrous Oxide was first synthesized by British chemist Joseph Priestley in 1772 as a possible means of keeping the Irish population in check or as a substitute for birds, I forget which. He found that inhaling the gas produced euphoria and giddiness… the same emotions one feels after running over a corporate lawyer and then noticing that no one saw you do it. Priestley realized that this substance needed more research… so, he continued researching it every Saturday night with friends and maybe a good wine. Sadly, he was also a vocal supporter of the American and French revolutions and was asked to leave the country by the riotous mobs that tended to follow him around and burn effigies that, coincidentally, wore the same clothes that he did.

That same year, English physician Thomas Beddoes and Scottish engineer James Watt published Considerations on the Medical Use and on the Production of Factitious Airs, a treatise on how to mechanize the creation of nitrous oxide so that it could be used to treat consumption and, what they called in Australia, “Wallaby-Lung”. Patients with tuberculosis saw no improvement in their conditions with nitrous oxide treatments but recommended them highly anyway, to anyone who would listen.

Chemist Humphry Davy then began his research into the substance, mostly when he had friends over and a weekend to kill. Davy took copious notes, many of which were written down on paper. By then, the general public was calling this new discovery, “Laughing Gas”. The upper classes were having laughing gas parties when they could get their hands on some. It was fun and safe and you didn’t get as much gore on you as you might at the local bear-baiting. Medical students indulged freely in nitrous, making their education seem like a beautiful dream, although paying for that education remained a horrific nightmare.

American physician Horace Wells noticed that people who were injured while laughing, prancing and falling into things under the effects of the gas, did not feel their injuries until the nitrous had worn off. He came up with two conclusions from this: First, the gas could be used to block pain during dentistry or minor surgery; and second, if he was careful, Dr. Wells could punch one of his friends in the face while under the influence of laughing gas and no one would ever know. The first dozen experiments using laughing gas for dentistry were a success; but, when he tried to demonstrate at Massachusetts General Hospital, the patient cried out… and not in joy, either. Wells was soundly booed and left Massachusetts to go insane and commit suicide, which was the standard retirement package at the time.

Eighteen years later, Gardner Quincy Colton had convinced a large group of dentists to use the gas and, after over twenty thousand successes, Nitrous Oxide because the industry standard. This wasn’t a hard-sell, since they were comparing it to dentistry with no anesthetic. Compared to the pain of dental work, even disemboweling, flaying and Vin Diesel come out favorably. Looks like Dr. Wells lost his mind and committed suicide eighteen years too early… WHO’S LAUGHING NOW?

Fast forward to the 1960s. A jam-band called the Grateful Dead was attracting hippies by the thousands but, try as they might, they couldn’t produce any music that anyone could remember the next day. They thought about changing their music but then they had a revolutionary idea: Change the mindset of the people listening to it. Balloons of nitrous oxide were sold at their venues and the band’s popularity soared. Unfortunately, attendees still couldn’t remember the music or where they’d been that day…

Today, you can get nitrous oxide from Amazon or Ebay… all you want. I friend of mine did, while I sat and watched television a few feet away. He fell backwards out of his chair and might have hit his head on the way down… but, he assured me that it didn’t hurt… I would’ve booed him but I didn’t want him going insane and committing suicide. I tried some myself, once. There is a feeling of euphoria as reality just dissolves around you; but, a moment later, reality smacks the back of your head and says, “I’ve been here the whole time, loser”. Then, reality sits on your couch and eats your Doritos without breaking eye-contact.

Which really REALLY hurts…