A man who stiffened: a courageous experiment in immortality
For decades, rumors have turned into a secret experiment that could change the course of human history. Some say that a man from the past, frozen in time, is waiting to revive, while others refuse it as a science.
But what if it was true? What if modern science finally had the power to revive the dead back? One person hid under layers of ice and technology and dared to gamble in the future – dr. James Hiram Bedford.
More than 50 years have passed and everyone wants to know whether or not this man can be revived, and whether modern advanced human science can create miracles or not. Can people own this technology to revive a dead person? This is a question that many people want to have an answer to. And half a century ago, it was also hoping for Dr. James Hiram Bedford. With a strong desire to live, a man voluntarily signed up to freeze his body with the promise that he would be revived in 2017.
Three years have passed since this important milestone, and curiosity still persists. What happened to a man who once considered one of the richest in America?
James Hiram Bedford was a professor of psychology at the University of California and the veteran of the First World War. In the mid -20th century he lived all his life, married twice and traveled around the world. He hunted in Africa, explored the Amazon rainforest and started through Greece, Türkiy, Spain, England, Scotland, Germany and Switzerland. Bedford was also among the first to drive Alcan Highway to the northwest Canada and Alaska.
In 1967 Bedford received devastating news – he was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer, which had already spread to his lungs. At that time, medicine had no medicine and death seemed inevitable. Bedford, however, read the prospect of immortality, Dr. Robert Ettinger, the so-called “father of cryonics” and founder of the Cryonics Institute. Bedford, inspired by the idea of freezing the human body for the future revival, decided to make a jump of faith.
On January 12, 1967, after Bedford’s passage, the pioneer of cryonics Robert Nelson supervised the procedure. His body was injected with dimethylsulfoxide, a chemical designed to maintain his organs before being placed in the chamber of liquid nitrogen at -196 ° C. He became the first person to be cryogenically frozen at all.
But he was not the first to try such a performance. In April 1966, a woman in Arizona underwent a similar process, but her protection failed. Experts speculated that her body was not properly prepared in time, leading to cellular decomposition. If it were revived, its brain would be significantly damaged.
Bedford’s frozen state was later investigated by Alcor in 1991, almost 24 years after his body was first preserved. When the technicians opened their cryogenic chamber, they found that his body was wrapped in a blue sleeping bag, secured by nylon straps. His face looked surprisingly juvenile, although some areas of his skin showed color. His nose and mouth radiated the smell of blood, and his eyes remained half open, frozen in a scary state. While some cracks in his skin were formed, overall preservation was considered successful.
Despite this, three years after its planned date of revival in 2017, Bedford remains in frozen sleep, stacked next to 145 others is waiting for the same fate. Science still has to reach the point of reversal of death – but it remains a question: will humanity ever unlock the secrets of the resurrection?
More than 50 years have passed and curiosity remains – can science revive a person back to life? Can modern progress in human technology achieve the impossible? This is a question that has a lot of interest. Half a century ago, Dr. James Hiram Bedford. Determined to extend his life, voluntarily signed up for freezing of the body, with the expectation of recovery in 2017.
Now, three years, after the expected moment, the world eager to reveal the fate of a man who once considered one of the richest in America …
James Hiram Bedford was a professor of psychology at the University of California and the veteran of the First World War. In the mid-20th century, he lived an adventurous life, experienced two marriages, and traveled to numerous destinations around the world.
He went on hunting trips in Africa, explored the Amazon rainforest and went through Greece, Türkiy, Spain, England, Scotland, Germany and Switzerland. Bedford was also among the first individuals to drive the Alcan motorway through the northwest Canada and Alaska.
In 1967 he was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer, which has already spread to his lungs. At that time, medical advances did not offer any hope of healing and he remained a choice, but to accept his fate. James, however, read about Kryonice in the prospect of immortality, Dr. Robert Ettinger, widely considered to be a pioneer of body frost experiments and founder of the Cryonics Institute, which after death specializes in cryogenic preservation.
Robert Nelson, one of the first characters in Cryonics, performed the initial frost process on Bedford. After his passage on January 12, 1967, dimethylsulfoxide was injected into his body to help preserve.
Interestingly, in April 1966 another individual in Arizona passed cryonic protection. However, due to the delay of embalming, its cells began to decompose and raised concerns that if it were revived, it would suffer serious brain damage.
Bedford’s Cryonian road was publicly unveiled in the Daily Telegraph (UK) in January 2017.
According to reports, his last words were Robert Nelson – who was 82 years old at the time, and one of the three scientists directly involved – “I want you to understand that I do not do it with the expectation of revival.
Before his death, Bedford assigned more than $ 100,000 (equivalent to more than 2 billion VNDs today) to finance cryonic protection. January 12, 1967, he suffered cardiac arrest in a nursing home at the age of 73.
Dr. Renault tried to maintain circulation by artificial respiration and heart massage before its blood was fully exhausted and replaced by dimethylsulfoxide to protect its organs. Bedford was then placed in a liquid nitrogen chamber, where his body was held at -196 ° C.
In 1991, after 24 years of protection, the Alcor Life Extension Foundation decided to check Bedford’s state. After opening the metal chamber, the technicians found that his body wrapped in a light blue sleeping bag, secured by nylon straps. It was then converted to another liquid nitrogen tank lined with polystyrene foam for examination.
The evaluation revealed that Bedford’s body was relatively well preserved. His facial features looked younger than the deceased was expected for 24 years. However, some areas of his chest and neck showed color and his body had two visible punctures. His nose and mouth had traces of blood and his half-open eyes were white because of the formation of ice. His right leg was crossed on his left side and small surface cracks were visible on his skin. Despite these observations, the maintenance was considered successful.
After the test, the technicians placed him in a new sleeping bag and returned it to the liquid storage of nitrogen.
Now, three years after the screening year, Bedford remains in a frozen state, which was vertically stored next to 145 others awaits the future of cryonics.
Conclusion
The story of James Hiram Bedford remains one of the most fascinating experiments in Kryonice – a bold attempt to resist the limits of human mortality. Although more than five decades have passed since his body, the technology that brought him back to life has to be realized. Despite progress in medical science, the question remains whether cryonics can actually restore life unanswered.
His case serves as a symbol of human ambitions and testimony of the uncertainty of scientific progress. When he still rests in his frozen state along with others who chose the same fate, the world follows and miracles: will science one day achieve a miracle of revival, or will Bedford remain a relocated dream? Only time will tell.