Man drilled hole in his own skull to stay constantly high
A man drilled a hole into his own skull so that he could remain constantly high.
Joe Mellen, former member of the Swinging Sixties acid revolution, devised a plan to ensure that he could be indefinitely tripping through an archaic process known as trepanation.
As daunting as it sounds, Mellen attempted the procedure not once, not twice but a stomach-churning three times before he - quite literally - hit the nail on the head.
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Mellen gave the phrase 'chasing a high' a whole new definition after being introduced to the bizarre concept of trepanation back in the heyday of Ibiza in 1965.
In case you're not clued up on the skull-drilling process, trepanation or trepanning is widely considered to be one of the oldest surgical procedures known to humanity.
It refers to a surgical procedure in which a circular piece of bone is drilled or scraped then excised, most commonly from the human skull.
Recalling what would go on to become a life-altering moment, Mellen remembered the first time he ever met Bart Huges - the man who would go on to inform him of the procedure.
"I'd heard about this guy who had drilled a hole in his own head, and I thought, 'Well, he must be a nutcase!'" the Brit told Vice back in 2016.
Little did he know...
In his book, Bore Hole, Mellen starts the text with the confession: "This is the story of how I came to drill a hole in my head to get permanently high."
The text goes into graphic detail about his experiences of trepanation, which Mellen admits are 'very understandable' for people to be squeamish over.
He revealed: "When I first heard about it I thought, 'This is ridiculous!'
"And the idea that someone would do it to himself or herself was absurd.
"But you get used to ideas eventually, don't you?"
It was just two years after learning about trepanning in 1967 that Mellen conducted his first attempt.
"At that time, I was broke, and I certainly couldn't afford an electric drill, so I bought a hand trepan from a surgical instrument shop," he recalled.
The man described the instrument as 'a bit like a corkscrew but with a ring of teeth at the bottom'.
Yikes.
He continued: "It was difficult. It was like trying to uncork a bottle of wine from the inside."
Bet you'll never unscrew a bottle of vino the same ever again.
Let's just say that the initial try was a failure but that wasn't going to deter Mellen from trying again two more times.
He talked about the decision, explaining: "The human being needs more blood in its brain.
"And this isn't a great high; it's just restoring you to that youthful level of vitality. This vitality that you lose when you hit adulthood."
About a year on, he tried again and did 'remove some skull' but not enough to be satisfied, as he told the outlet: "There was kind of a 'schlurping' sound as I took the trepan out and what sounded like bubbles."
The third and final attempt came in 1970 which only took 'half an hour all in all, including clearing up afterwards'.
Mellen recalled: "I was feeling great because I'd done it, but then I noticed after about an hour I started to feel a lightness, like a weight had been lifted off me.
"I did it in the evening and went to bed at 11pm feeling good, and I could still feel it when I woke up the next morning. And then I realized, 'This is it. It's done'."
Guess third time really is a charm.
Rhiannon Ingle