Gallaudet Eleven

During the decade of studies, Robert Greemun wrote many letters to his family, which provided a vivid written record of the Gallaudet Eleven's experiences as test subjects.

[2] The study consisted of a wide variety of tests in which subjects were challenged to perform physically and mentally demanding tasks while experiencing accelerations from things like centrifuges, zero-gravity flights, and other devices.

The room was equipped with all the necessities for basic living, including a sink, refrigerator, stove, shower, and toilet, so its rotation had to be paused only for occasional supply deliveries and visits from researchers.

Greemun reports having developed certain habits of movement while living in the CAP and SRR that made it difficult to readjust to normal rooms in the first hours after the end of a trial.

In one such study, subjects rode inside a machine called the Human Disorientation Device (HDD), a cylindrical cabin attached to large machinery that could move and rotate in multiple directions, designed to simulate the accelerations of a spinning satellite.

Some rides were carried out in total darkness, while in others, participants were subject to bursts of light from flash bulbs, which produced afterimages that they reported to the researchers.

[2] The research staff and other non-deaf people on board experienced extreme seasickness and vomiting, while those part of the Gallaudet Eleven were largely unaffected, with some even reporting that they enjoyed the experience.

[2][5][1] For their contributions to the understanding of motion sickness and the physiological and mental effects of prolonged accelerations on the human body, the Gallaudet Eleven have been recognized in museum exhibits and other ceremonies.

[7] Modern day motion sickness research is carried out, among other topics, at the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Laboratory at Brandeis University.