Being a Doctor isn't all Sunshine and Rainbows

History
The term diabetes was first coined by the ancient Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia. The term is derived from the Greek word diabaínein that literally means "passing through," or "siphon," a reference to one of diabetes' major symptoms -- excessive urine production.
In 1675, English physician Thomas Willis added the word mellitus, a Latin word meaning "honey" -- a reference to the sweet taste of a diabetic person's urine. This sweet taste had been noticed in urine by the ancient Greeks, Chinese, Egyptians, and Indians. In 1776, Matthew Dobson confirmed that the sweet taste was because of an excess of a kind of sugar in the urine and blood of people with diabetes.

From Diabetes.wikia.com

Bleck! Whose idea was this? Just goes to show how unusual circumstances lead to scientific discovery. It's good to be a doctor these days, you're tongue never has to go anywhere near a patients anything (insert gynocologist joke here). Upon further research, doctors eventually began testing by seeing if ants were attracted to the urine. I bet that was a relief to the upcoming med students at the time.