15 of the Best, “I’ll Do It Myself” Moments In History

Sometimes things head south at a moment’s notice and people are forced to step far outside their comfort zone to take the reins and land the plane. Sometimes, they’ve literally got to land planes. We’re going to take a look at some of the most memorable moments throughout history when folks essentially said, “whatever, I’ll do it myself.”

1. John Stapp and his rocket sled.

“John Stapp: air force doctor who was convinced that more pilots could survive if their seats didnt disintegrate on crash landings. He proved it by strapping himself into a mythbusters style rocket sled and not dying. His work led to safer planes and cars.” – u/Hirmuinen6

2. Roald Dahl was a man of many talents.

“Famous writer Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, James and the Giant Peach etc) developed and patented a surgical device to treat children with traumatic brain injuries. Dahl had no medical training, he just did it. Dahl’s 4 year old son was injured in a car accident and developed dangerous pressure on his brain due to swelling. Surgeons installed a shunt in Dahl’s son’s skull to drain fluid and relieve pressure, but it kept clogging. There was no better solution on the market so Dahl worked with a toy maker to design a new shunt that drained fluid without clogging. Dahl was able to patent the design and it was subsequently used to treat thousands of children.” – u/hiro111

3. The origins of the automatic switchboard.

“The man who invented the automatic switchboard (switchboards used to require a person to physically move a cable to connect the call) did so because his funeral home wasn’t getting any customers. The lady operating the switchboard was the wife of his rival and was redirecting the calls to her husband. Instead of complaining to the phone company, which would have probably gotten her fired if they found sufficient evidence, he took matters into his own hands and made her entire job obsolete.” – u/Lugbor

4. The fearless Dr. Barry Marshall.

“Dr. Barry Marshall for infecting himself with H. pylori to prove they were the cause of ulcers. He earned a Nobel prize for his efforts.” – u/AudibleNod

5. Dashrath Manjhi and the time he moved literal mountains.

“In 1959, Dashrath Manjhi’s wife died from injuries resulting from trying to cross the mountain to access the closest hospital. There was no road so he, over the course of over two decades with a hammer and chisel, moved the mountain. His country (India) made a postage stamp with the mad lad’s face on it. Dude swore vengeance on a damn mountain and won. – u/n00by97

6. Neil Armstrong taking the reins on Apollo 11.

“Neil Armstrong going to manual control on the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander when he saw the computer was steering them towards a rocky landing site.” – u/TypeNegative

7. Leroy Jenkins and his moment of fame.

“Leroy Jenkins. If you know you know. If you don’t, here you go.” – u/hateifulwon

8. Bill Burr vs. the city of Philly.

“When Bill Burr attacked the city of Philly when all the comedians before him got Booed off the stage. He sat there and did his 15 minutes and in all 15 minutes he roasted, burned, attacked whatever you want to call it, basically cooked the city of Philadelphia and everything it stood for.” – u/982infinity

9. The story behind rubber gloves.

“The guy who invented rubber gloves for surgeons was himself a doctor whose nurse (also his wife) was suffering from contact dermatitis from all the chemicals they used to create an antiseptic environment. So he designed some rubber gloves and asked Goodyear to make them for him, accidentally Inventing the beginning of aseptic surgery in the process.” – u/careless_piano5447

10. Allan Turing casually inventing computers.

“It’s gotta be Allan Turing single handedly inventing computers in response to heading a code breaking team during WW2. He literally invented computers in spite of the government trying to shut him down. His invention is responsible for more than half the world economy today and likely much more of the economy in the future.” – u/doshizle

11. Billy Corgan going crazy on “Siamese Dream.”

“Billy Corgan recording all the guitar and bass parts to Siamese Dream.” – u/theghostchannel65

12. Teddy Roosevelt’s son.

“Teddy Roosevelt’s son, a decorated senior officer with no need to put himself in harms way, volunteered to go ashore on D Day at Utah Beach with his 1st Infantry Division to personally lead the troops in the biggest amphibious landing in history.” – u/orangebird77

13. Cliff Stoll looking after Cal’s computers.

“Cliff Stoll. Back in the mid ’80s he reported to everyone who should care that someone was trying to hack UCal Berkeley computers looking for information on nuclear secrets and other classified military information. His bosses said to just close the back door that allowed the hack but he convinced them otherwise and worked with the FBI and other authorities to capture the hacker.” – u/blackholered

14. The Wright brothers and their historical takeoff.

“When the Wright brothers built and flew the first airplane despite massive skepticism.” – u/own_organization_756

15. Richard Scolyer chasing down a successful brain cancer treatment.

“Richard Scolyer is currently using himself as a guinea pig for a experimental brain cancer treatment, using a treatment that’s normally used for melanomas. There are still concerns with the treatment, but it potentially could be a serious breakthrough, he is after 1 year, cancer free.” – u/mike_kermin