The Man Who Survived Being Shot Through the Head By the World’s Strongest Laser

Cecil Kelley

Kelley was a chemical operator who was working with an unusually high solution of polonium to determine its effects after being mixed with water. The chamber that the chemical was being stored in created a vortex to mix the ingredients, but that pulled the polonium to the surface and caused an exposed reaction. Kelley fell to the ground and complained about being on fire, although he was not on fire at all. When rushed to the hospital, doctors discovered that Kelley’s bone marrow had completely melted away, and he died within 35 hours of being exposed.