Two male Dutch TV hosts known for performing outlandish stunts on their program, “Proefkonijnen” (Guinea Pigs), have recently experienced agonizing pain similar to that of labor, by strapping electrode emitting machines to their abdomens.

Dennis Storm and Valerio Zeno first caused international controversy in 2011, when they consumed cooked pieces of each other’s flesh, on live television. Now, they’re back with another crazy experiment. Not satisfied with just sympathizing with women who go through labor, the two crazy hosts wanted to go through the same experience, to see what it feels like. And since actually giving birth was out of the question, they went for the next best thing – strapping a number of electrodes to their bellies, which sent electrical charges meant to simulate cramps and contractions. The controlled experiment lasted two hours and had the two crazy men screaming, groaning and curling into the fetal position from the pain.

Photo: YouTube caption

“Do you think the pain will make us scream,” Zeno asked one of the nurses before the electrical impulses started going through their bodies. “Yes, it definitely will,” she replied, and as they soon found out, that was no lie. The experiment started off easy, but as the nurses increased the power of the shocks, the TV duo went through excruciating pain they later compared to torture. Still, they said it was one of the best days of their Guinea Pigs season. Maybe it was because of the baby doll and pink cookies they got from the nurses after the whole thing was over.

I don’t know how close having electrical shocks going through the abdomen comes to the pain of actual labor, but I think the two got off easy. Most women spend way more than two hours going through labor, some as long as 24 hours.