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.
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"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."
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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?"
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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.
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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.
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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'.
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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