The Beatles were into all sorts of nonsense during their years of international rockstar fame, and rightly so. However, when Lennon approached McCartney with one particular medical proposition, he had to refuse.

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During the 60’s there were plenty of weird and wonderful things being explored. Acid, synthesizers, and ancient arts were all the rage as people smoked their way into world peace. However, some of the ancient arts are best left being ancient, unless you’re completely nuts.

At the time, there was a man who dubbed himself a scholar. Hugo Bart Huge, a Dutch librarian, had clearly spent too much time with his nose in a book and was convinced that trepanning, the art of drilling a hole in the skull, was a way to better mental clarity. The medical theory caught the eye of Lennon, and he proposed it to McCartney.

Using a foot pedal and a small dental drill, Huge had successfully performed the procedure on himself. He then presented his findings on a scroll, like any other sane scientist would.

Lennon Proposed Medial Trepanning to McCartney

I’ve had my fair share of brain fog and hangovers, where the pressure in my skull feels almost unbearable. I can kind of sympathize with Lennon wanting to drill a hole in his head, a little.

However, when Lennon proposed this bizarre medical procedure to McCartney, he quickly brought him back to earth. McCartney told GQ he let Lennon down gently. “Well, that sounds very sensible. ‘But look, John, you try it and let me know how it goes.” He continued “The good thing about John and I—I’d say no. And he knew me well enough that if I said no, I meant no. I’m not frightened of being uncool to say no. I wouldn’t go far as to say, ‘You’re f***ing crazy,’ because I didn’t need to say that. But, no, I’m not gonna trepan, thank you very much. It’s just not something I would like to do.”

In hindsight, I think McCartney dodged a bullet by turning down Lennon on his plans to perform the less-than-medical procedure. Who knows how The Beatle’s music would have ended up sounding if the whole band had drilled pressure-releasing holes in their skulls?