In 1933, many disagreed as to whether a black widow spider bite actually caused the symptoms reported. Until then, only a few similar tests had been completed and they lacked scientific validity for various reasons.[4]
On November 12, 1933 Blair allowed himself to be bitten by a female black widow spider to observe the effects of the spider's venom upon a human male. Blair chronicled the bite's effects on his body for two hours, until he could write no more and his assistants took over recording observations for the remaining two days.[5] Approximately two hours after the bite, Allan was driven to a nearby hospital where the physicians who attended to him praised him for his courage but also for his persistence and skill in carrying on his investigation so long to such a successful conclusion.[5] Blair also developed a protocol for treatment of patients bitten by a black widow spider.[5]
Blair conducted the experiment, "with a view to providing an opportunity for complete scientific observation."[6][5]
Blair initially hoped to determine whether being bitten provided victims with any protection from the effects of a second bite. However, the first bite proved so painful he chose not to place himself in the same position again. The physician in attendance was quoted as having never before witnessed "more abject pain manifested in any other medical or surgical condition."[4]