We all know that the human capacity to inflict suffering on others has no limits. If you didn’t know, get a book or, better yet, turn on the news.
Fortunately, the world has become much more humane in recent decades and I think we can all agree that that’s a good thing. If you don’t think this is a good thing, stop reading immediately and seek professional help – I don’t want to be held responsible for giving you horrible ideas!
I know how torturous it can be to lose Wi-Fi signal or have to endure yet another story from your friend about how unfair life is because her “serious” boyfriend of three weeks decided to jettisoned just as she was being abandoned. overlooked for promotion at work. I understand; you have my sympathies. But after reading this list of seventeen of the most terrible punishments in history, you’ll be extremely grateful that two minutes without Facebook on the bus is the worst of your immediate problems.
The brazen bull
The Brazen Bull, sometimes known as the Sicilian Bull, was a bronze bull statue with a cavity large enough to fit a person inside – you know where this is going, right? Designed by the ancient Greeks in Sicily, the bull kept the condemned man locked inside while a fire was lit underneath. The bronze bull would heat up and the unfortunate soul inside would slowly roast alive while screaming in agony. The bull was specially designed to amplify these cries and make them sound like the bellowing of a real bull.
The support
One of the most famous torture devices on the list, the stand was a very popular torture device made of a rectangular wooden frame. The limbs of the convicts were attached to both ends of the frame with chains and, using pulleys and rollers, they were stretched until they became useless or were completely torn from the body. Originally used in ancient times, although we don’t know which civilization first designed such a monstrous contraption, it was reported that Alexander the Great used it. The stand gained popularity in Western Europe in the late Middle Ages when it was first introduced to England in 1447, although the French added to the torment by gluing spikes to the rollers.
Crucifixion
Ah yes, the crucifixion! Almost everyone on the planet is familiar with this particularly cruel form of punishment. Jesus Christ was the most famous victim of crucifixion, but it was widely used in Roman times and the 6,000 rebels of Spartacus’ slave revolt, who were unlucky enough not to be killed in battle, were crucified along the Appian Way (a route stretching 200 kilometers)! Although mainly practiced in Antiquity, this barbaric method of torture has unfortunately not yet been thrown into the dustbin of history. Several Islamic states still use crucifixion as a legitimate form of execution. It is a deliberately slow and excruciating execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left hanging until they die, which usually takes several days.
Guillotine
Probably the most humane form of execution on this list, it was nevertheless very brutal. Although it was not invented by Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, the guillotine has been named after him since he proposed the idea of a more humane (and more egalitarian) form of execution for revolutionary France. This device was used as the standard form of execution in France until the country abolished the death penalty in 1981; the last execution took place in 1977. The guillotine consisted of a razor-sharp blade attached to a rope that fell over the victim’s head, separating it from their body.
The bathtub
Known as the “sit in the bathtub” punishment, the condemned was placed in a wooden bathtub with only their head protruding. Doesn’t look so bad, does it? Quite nice compared to the previous punishments on the list really.
Wait! The executioner painted the victim’s face with milk and honey, and soon the flies began to feed on it. Being fed regularly, the prisoner would end up swimming in their own feces and after a few days, maggots, worms and other adorable creepy crawlies would feast on their bodies as they decomposed alive. Not so pleasant after all.
Rat torture
If you have ever read George Orwell’s novel 1984, you will be aware of the terrifying prospect of rat torture, as the book’s protagonist, Winston Smith, discovers when he is subjected to the terror of Room 101. If you haven’t read it, then I highly recommend it. Anyway, back to rat torture. This freezing torture technique involved a cage with one open side attached to the victim’s body (often the chest). The cage would then be filled with rats and the metal cage would be heated. The rodents’ natural instinct caused them to flee the intense heat. Where could they flee? By the condemned of course. In order to escape, they dug up the victim’s body, which had fatal consequences.
Chest ripper
Here’s one for the ladies. Although women have been subjected to most of the torture techniques on this list, this list was designed specifically for them. Used to cause significant blood loss, the metal claws, often red-hot, were placed on exposed breasts as the tips penetrated beneath the skin. The claws were then pulled, causing large chunks of flesh to break off.
Republican marriage
Another “ingenious” method of execution developed during the French Revolution, republican marriage was a little less humane than the guillotine. It involved tying a naked male and a naked female together, then throwing them into water to drown them. What happened when there was no river or lake nearby, you ask? Well, the soldiers just stabbed the victims with swords and bayonets. This was the preferred method used to execute priests and nuns; what a crime!
Spanish donkey
From revolutionary France to the Spanish Inquisition. The Spanish donkey might just be one of the most brutal punishments ever conceived by mankind. The victim sat astride, naked, on a vertical wooden plank with a sharp V-shaped corner on top. The executioner would then add varying weight to the victim’s feet, allowing gravity to do what it does best, until finally the wedge sliced open the body.
Saw torture
Similar to the Spanish donkey (in the sense that it involved splitting a human being in two), we witnessed torture. You really wouldn’t like this one. The unfortunate victim would be suspended by his feet. This allowed the blood to rush to their heads so that they were conscious for most of the execution. The victim was then sawed in two, from the groin to the head. Simple.
skin
Flaying was a form of torture popularized by the Assyrians. It literally means to flay: as in “flay you alive.” Beautiful. Depending on how much skin was removed from the victim, this was a punishment that could leave you either dead or severely scarred (emotionally and physically). Likewise, some were punished by having chunks of flesh removed – Shylock didn’t make a request out of the blue, after all.
Death by burn
Deliberately causing death through the effects of combustion has a long lineage as a form of execution. Many societies throughout history have used it for various crimes, such as treason; witchcraft; sexual transgressions; heresy and the Japanese, with an ironic sense of humor, used it to carry out arson attacks. It was a crowd favorite because it put on a great show.
Impalement
Given its nickname, it is not surprising to discover that this was the favored method of execution of the 15th century Romanian ruler Vlad the Impaler. The victim was forced to sit on top of a thick, sharp pole. When the pole was raised vertically, the victim’s body was pierced by the point and slid down the pole under its own weight. This gruesome method of execution could take days (depending on where the stake was placed) and it was reported that the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II fled with his army at the sight of 20,000 impaled corpses rotting away. the outskirts of Vlad’s capital. from Targoviste.
Cradle of Judas
The Judas chair was closely related to impalement and the Spanish donkey. This gruesome punishment involved the victim sitting atop a pyramid-shaped cradle. The victim was pulled down using ropes in order to stretch the anus over a long period of time, slowly impaling him. To maximize the humiliation, the victim was usually completely naked and the device was rarely, if ever, washed. If the torture didn’t kill you, the infection you inevitably contracted would.
Cement shoes
A more modern form of execution, similar to the Republican Marriage, but more solitary at the end. Cement shoes were introduced by the American mafia as a form of execution. The condemned had their feet placed in concrete blocks (concrete blocks for our American cousins) and then cement was poured into them. Once dried, the victim was thrown into a river, lake or ocean to sleep with the fish.
Tongue remover
The Tongue Tearer was essentially an oversized pair of scissors used to cut out a victim’s tongue. Usually reserved for a blasphemer or heretic, the mouth was forced open and the iron tongue remover grabbed the tongue with its rough pincers. Once the firm grip was maintained, the screw was tightened firmly and the victim’s tongue was roughly torn from the mouth. So the next time you take the Lord’s name in vain, just think about how you would have been punished in the past – don’t feel lucky.
Hanged, drawn and quartered
The punishment for treason in medieval England was to be hanged, drawn and quartered in public. This form of execution lasted for hundreds of years (until the 19th century). Thousands of people suffered a grisly end. The victim was tied to a wooden frame and dragged behind a horse to the place of execution. They were then hung by the neck for a short time until near death (hung), followed by castration and disembowelment where the entrails and genitals were burned in front of the still breathing victim (shot). The condemned would then be divided into four separate parts and beheaded (quartered). One of the most famous men to be hanged, quartered and quartered was medieval Scottish resistance leader Sir William Wallace. His quartered limbs were sent to Newcastle, Berwick, Stirling and Perth to serve as a warning while his head was laid on London Bridge.
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