Automotive safety engineers used actual human cadavers as the very first crash test dummies in the 1930s, tossing lifeless bodies down elevator shafts and crashing them into walls to study blunt force trauma.

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Automotive safety engineers used actual human cadavers as the very first crash test dummies in the 1930s, tossing lifeless bodies down elevator shafts and crashing them into walls to study blunt force trauma. Before the invention of highly sophisticated rubber and steel test dummies equipped with digital sensors, researchers desperately needed anatomical data to figure out exactly how the human skull reacted to sudden deceleration. As grim and ethically questionable as it sounds, the data collected from these post-mortem volunteers directly led to the development of the modern seatbelt, shatterproof windshields, and energy-absorbing steering columns. It is deeply morbid to think about, but the safety rating on your modern luxury SUV is built entirely on the shattered bones of anonymous deceased people who took a horrific beating for the sake of scientific progress