1986 – West German snake researcher Juergen Herger began a 100-day experiment living with poisonous snakes at a zoo near Pensacola on this date. Juergen broke the world record by 10 days while sleeping in a glass room with 28 snakes including cobras, vipers and rattlesnakes, as well as some non-venomous species. The goal of his research was to determine how different snake species interacted with each other. During the 100 days, Juergen slept only two hours at a time because one cobra tended to curl up with him whenever he would lie down and he feared being bitten. Juergen still works with venomous snakes in Europe although he has stated he would never attempt an experiment like that again.