"Do you know his hot dog is talking to me?"
By Happy birthday to Lysergic acid diethylamide, which turns 69 years old today. First synthesized in Basel, Switzerland by Albert Hofmann, the rye fungus derivative was was not deliberately ingested until April 19, when Hoffman turned on and tuned in with 250 micrograms — ten times the threshold dosage in humans. Among the faithful, April 19 later came to be known as “Bicycle Day” because Hofmann rode his bike home from the lab while tripping.
Hoffman’s first plunge into psychedelia didn’t start out so well, but once he realized that his couch was not threatening him and that his neighbor was not a witch, Hofmann settled back and seems to have enjoyed himself:
Slowly I came back from a weird, unfamiliar world to reassuring everyday reality. The horror softened and gave way to a feeling of good fortune and gratitude, the more normal perceptions and thoughts returned, and I became more confident that the danger of insanity was conclusively past. Now, little by little I could begin to enjoy the unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind my closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged in on me, alternating, variegated, opening and then closing themselves in circles and spirals, exploding in colored fountains, rearranging and hybridizing themselves in constant flux. It was particularly remarkable how every acoustic perception, such as the sound of a door handle or a passing automobile, became transformed into optical perceptions. Every sound generated a vividly changing image, with its own consistent form and color … Exhausted, I then slept, to awake next morning refreshed, with a clear head, though still somewhat tired physically. A sensation of well-being and renewed life flowed through me. Breakfast tasted delicious and gave me extraordinary pleasure. When I later walked out into the garden, in which the sun shone now after a spring rain, everything glistened and sparkled in a fresh light. The world was as if newly created. All my senses vibrated in a condition of highest sensitivity, which then persisted for the entire day.
I never dropped acid, largely because I couldn’t conceive of being under the influence of anything for more than a couple of hours at a stretch. Also, I once saw a high school friend blow two hours trying to fix a massive, non-existent dent in his skull.