 life in Philadelphia, largely due to the fact that his father, Robert Hare, Sr., had been a trustee at the University of Pennsylvania. The family owned a brewery and that had a large impact on the younger Hare’s desire to study chemistry and he eventually started attending the University’s lectures (5) (6).
Robert Hare, Jr. became fascinated with gases through his chemistry work and when the brewery failed in 1815, he unsuccessfully attempted to manufacture illuminating gas. He invented many things, including the calorimeter and the precursor of the blow torch by burning a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen formed from electrolysis, which subsequently led to the creation of the platinum industry. He became acquainted with the much older Joseph Priestley, who had moved to Pennsylvania from London, and Priestley was the first person that Hare showed the “oxyhydrogen torch” (5). It is possible that from this contact Hare’s interest in nitrous oxide was spurred. Hare was the professor of chemistry at the medical school, the largest in the country then, from 1818-1848, which meant that he taught a substantial number of America’s 19th century physicians (4). Due to his position’s responsibilities and his personal interests, Hare would conduct experiments and demonstrations for classes and occasionally the general public on novel scientific advancements of the time, such as with nitrous oxide (4, 6).
The venue for these large demonstrations of nitrous oxide use was often a lecture hall of some sort. Graham writes that “Doct[or] Hare exhibited the effects of the Nitrous Oxyd-gas; in the old University. The room below and the circular gallery above was crowded with spectators and students” (1, 3).
In addition during this time period, travelling lecturers would encourage members of the general public to attend “ether frolics” where either diethyl ether or nitrous oxide would be inhaled. First, these lecturers wanted to demonstrate to people the mind-altering powers of these substances. Second, members of the crowd not under the influence were entertained by the participants, and admission fees were usually charged. An invitation to such an event is shown below. Also, private parties would be held where people would experiment with the effects of nitrous oxide, as illustrated in two of the pictures below. The participants were not aware of the potential long-term health consequences (7).
While modern knowledge of nitrous oxide has advanced significantly from the early 19th century, “its cellular mechanism of action is still not understood” (8). It is a powerful and useful gas with some significant health risks such as brain damage and even death if not used carefully and under the supervision of trained professionals. N2O’s groundbreaking potential for use as anesthesia for surgery was not fully realized until the American dentist Horace Wells (1815-1848) tried to use it as an anesthetic agent in a dental operation in 1845 (9).
Graham tried nitrous oxide on two occasions. A man who is said to be a travelling exhibitionist of chemical experiments stopped in Abingdon, VA while Graham was living there. After Graham inhaled nitrous oxide, “the sensations it produced were of the most delightful character, while inhaling it, leaving an impression like the taste of Cinnamon on the tongue” (1). Clearly it was not against societal norms to experiment with these types of substances and the subject is treated with a light, anecdotal tone.
In the early 19th century, public demonstrations of nitrous oxide’s effects on humans were common in the US. The noted businessman P.T. Barnum, among others, did nitrous oxide shows early on in his career. And when Samuel Colt, who patented the revolver in 1836, needed to raise money to fund production of his new invention, he produced nitrous oxide and, according to historian A.J. Wright, “traveled the Northeast charging 25 cents to people who wanted to see their fellow citizens make fools of themselves under the influence of laughing gas” (3).
By: Lucas Andersen
1. William Alexander Graham, “A Narrative  of G