Recreational Drug Use as Chemical Education

Abstract

In the early nineteenth century, chemistry professors in the United States and England frequently held classroom “frolics,” where they gave their students nitrous oxide and ether to inhale so they could experience their intoxicating effects. It is well known that many of the people who claimed to have discovered anesthesia first learned about nitrous oxide and ether through frolics. However, frolics, themselves, are much less studied. I show that frolics were a textbook example of a new form of science pedagogy that sought to teach students about nature through classroom demonstrations that appealed to their senses.¹ I also show that the frolic was a highly gendered practice. Women were generally barred from frolics because nitrous oxide and ether were thought to upset their delicate nervous systems and make them act indecorously. Conversely, the risks inherent in inhaling nitrous oxide and ether made frolics an opportunity for men to prove their bravery and perform their masculinity. I close by discussing how the frolic contributed to the discovery of anesthesia. This article makes novel contributions to the histories of chemical pedagogy, recreational drug use, gender, and sexuality.