Lilly's first dolphin surgery, in which he learned
that dolphins cannot be made unconscious or they will die.
After the unintended death of one of his research subjects,
a necropsy was done, allowing him to see a fresh dolphin's brain
for the first time.
Dr. Lilly was one of the first humans
to successfully raise young dolphins, from birth.
Here he is shown nipple feeding an infant dolphin in 1962.
Margaret Howe, John's research assistant,
lived with Peter the dolphin for ten weeks,
in a flooded apartment, teaching the dolphin to speak English.
Their relationship was excellent, but his amorous attentions
eventually demanded that she relieve his desires manually.
This was successful and they made incredible progress
in their research after passing this hurdle.
A few years before John died, he managed to visit Margaret Howe.
A sort of "altar" that John had set up at one end of his living room.
On it you will see a large whale vertebra, a dolphin skull
and a life-sized model of a Sperm Whale's brain.
Among John's favorite jokes (he had a wonderful sense of humour)
was flashing the Vulcan sign for "Live long and Prosper".
