#24: Laughing Gas
If you have ever gotten a cavity filled at the dentist, you may be familiar with the strange substance known as laughing gas—nitrous oxide. This anesthetic takes away your pain and makes you a little slap happy (hence the name “laughing gas”). I know I think that I’m hilarious when I’m on laughing gas, and I irritate my dentist with my stupid jokes.
The story goes that its medicinal use came from an experience that a dentist had at the circus when he saw someone who had inhaled nitrous oxide get cut without feeling any pain. It occurred to him that he might be able to use it in his dental practice to keep his patients from feeling pain as well. Thanks to that development, now we can all annoy our dentists with our stupid jokes when we are hopped up on nitrous oxide.