A closer look

To prove a medical theory, Werner Forssmann completely ignored his superiors, tied his nurse to an operating table to stop her from interfering, and injected local anesthetic into his own arm. He then threaded a two-foot rubber catheter through his vein all the way into his right atrium. He calmly walked to the X-ray department to take a picture of his internal handiwork. He got fired for his absolute lunacy, but eventually won a Nobel Prize.