Awwww, we had a Geo Metro up until about three years ago. It's second engine (yes, second engine) puked and that was all she wrote. It was a great car!
I don't know if this qualifies as "testing" on yourself, but Marie Curie certainly paid the price. Good Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie
That's a lot of paper.
Or a deathwish