A Swiss scientist by the name of Albert Hofman was hired at a pharmaceutical company in Switzerland. He was assigned to work in the chemical-pharmaceutical department of Sandoz Laboratories. He was working on an analeptic for women that was safe on the uterus.
An analeptic is a drug used in the aid of restoring a person's health. Hofman had decided to use different chemicals as trial and error. He introduced lysergic acid to his chemical structure creating lysergic acid diethylamide, but never got to test his results due to other incoming projects.
The compound using lysergic acid was shelved for nearly five years. On April 16th, 1943, Hofman decided to open his forgotten case and re-examine it. As he was touching the compound, it had made its way through the fibers of his safety gloves and was absorbed into his fingertips. Within a few minutes, he began to reportedly feel restless and dizzy. He decided to lay down and close his eyes.
When he did so, he began to see harsh, bright colors and shapes, as if looking through a kaleidoscope. A few days later, Hofman purposely ingested the Lysergic Acid Diethylamide or LSD and rode his bicycle home. Hofman had the first intentional acid trip recorded and this day is now known as "Bicycle Day".
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