Badass(es) of the Week: The Haldanes

J. S. Haldane who invented the gas mask World War I, spent time on the front lines analysing poison gases, he would rush to the scene whenever an attack was reported. Much knowledge of the effects of various gases came from Haldane shutting himself inside a chamber and breathing them, noting any physiological and psychological effects.

J. B. S. Haldane
J. B. S. Haldane
Born	November 5, 1892 Oxford, England
Died	December 1, 1964 (aged 72) Bhubaneswar, India
Nationality	British
Occupation	Badass, Mustache Champion, Male Model

He once taught his son (J B S Haldane)about the effects of gas by taking him down a mine filled with firedamp gas and had him recite Shakespeare until he passed out. That's some good parenting right there.

The younger Haldane became an expert on the effects of deep diving and the problems faced when rescuing submariners. He used a Royal Navy-funded compression chamber to subject himself and numerous volunteers to near-lethal diving conditions. He once went into a seizure during which he crushed a vertebrae. On other occasions, he suffered a collapsed lung, nerve damage to his spine resulting in several years of partial paralysis, countless nosebleeds, and frequently blew out his eardrums.

His famous quote is "The drum generally heals up; and if a hole remains in it, although one is somewhat deaf, one can blow tobacco smoke out of the ear in question, which is a social accomplishment."

I may be biased here, but I think the British have more badasses per capita (historically) than any other nation.