Are these the most gruesome inventions in history?
From brutal torture devices to bizarre medical treatments, these terrifying contraptions reveal a darker side to innovation.
They show how inventors throughout history have put their skills and intellects to use in horrifying ways, creating contraptions that have caused unimaginable suffering.
The feature, first published in How It Works magazine, highlights some heinous inventions used in torture, war and medicine.
Even if people weren’t sentenced to death, there were plenty of ghastly implements that could be used to torture them. Typically used to extract a confession or information about accomplices, torture was popular in medieval times, with the screams of victims echoing from castle dungeons across Europe.
We are also lucky that some medical devices from history are no longer used. Despite being designed with good intentions, many medieval procedures were truly stomach-churning, making a trip to the doctor quite the ordeal.
CRUEL METHODS OF EXECUTION
One of the most brutal methods of execution ever created took the form of a hollow bull statue.
Invented in ancient Greece by Perillus, a bronze worker in Athens, it was given as a gift to a cruel tyrant named Phalaris of Agrigentum.
As well as roasting criminals alive, the device also doubled as a musical instrument, converting the victim’s desperate cries into what Perillus described as ‘the tenderest, most pathetic, most melodious of bellowings’.
Distrustful of the inventor’s claims, Phalaris ordered Perillus to climb inside and prove the device’s musical capabilities himself.
As soon as he was inside, Phalaris shut the door and lit a fire beneath, causing Perillus to scream for real.
However, rather than letting him die at the hands of his own creation, Phalaris had him removed and thrown off a cliff instead.
Devised over 2,500 years ago as punishment for the most serious crimes, crucifixion would kill victims in a horribly drawn-out and painful way.
With their wrists and feet nailed or tightly bound to a cross, and their legs broken by the executioners to speed up death, the victim’s weight would be transferred to their arms.
This would gradually pull the shoulders and elbows out of their sockets, leaving the chest to bear the weight.
Although inhaling would still be possible, exhaling would be difficult and the victim would eventually suffocate due to a lack of oxygen.
This excruciating process could take 24 hours.
Although beheading methods had already been around for centuries, in 1789 French physician Dr Joseph Guillotin proposed a much more efficient and humane device for decapitation.
When the executioner released the rope holding the guillotine’s weighted blade in place, it would drop onto the victim’s neck, killing them in a fraction of a second. This helped to eliminate the human error that was common with axe and sword beheadings, which sometimes required the executioner to deliver multiple swings to fully remove the head.
Although beheading methods had already been around for centuries, in 1789 French physician Dr Joseph Guillotin proposed a much more efficient and humane device for decapitation - the guilletine. This painting captured the beheading of execution of Louis XVI
Although quick, guillotine executions were popular spectator events during the French Revolution and the guillotine operators become national celebrities.
Electrocution was introduced as a quicker and supposedly less painful method of execution than hanging in the 1880s.
When brought to the electric chair, a person has their head and one calf shaved to reduce resistance to electricity and is strapped in across their waist, arms and legs.
A moistened sponge is then placed on their head and an electrode in the shape of a metal skullcap is secured on top.
Another electrode is attached to their shaved leg and then the power is switched on. 2,000 volts pass through their body, paralysing the respiratory system and causing cardiac arrest.
MOST CRUEL METHODS OF TORTURE: FROM THE IRON MAIDEN TO THUMBSCREWS
1 - Breaking wheel
With the victim's limbs tied to the spokes of this large wooden wheel, it would be slowly revolved. As it spun, the executioner would bludgeon the victim's arms and legs with an iron hammer, shattering their bones one by one. If the victim survived this, they were placed on top of a large pole, so the birds could peach at their body until they eventually died of dehydration, which could take several days.
2 - The rack
With their hands and feet tied to rollers at each end of the wooden frame, the torture victim would be subjected to intense interrogation. If they failed to confess to their crimes or give up the information the torturer was looking for, a crank would be turned to rotate the rollers. This would pull on the ropes, gradually stretching the victim’s body and causing intense pain, eventually dislocating their limbs.
3 - Iron maiden
A series of menacing spokes protruded from the interior of this iron chamber. With the victim inside, the door was slowly closed, causing the strategically placed spikes to pierce the body. However, the spikes were not long enough to be instantly fatal. Instead, the victim would be left to slowly bleed to death.
Torture has been used as a method of punishment and interrogation for centuries, with the ancient Greeks and Romans regularly torturing criminals as part of their justice system. A variety of methods are shown above and the numbers correspond to the explanations in this orange box
4 - Head crusher
With a victim's chin placed over the bottom bar and their head between the metal cap, the executioner would slowly turn the screw to bring the two together, only stopping if the victim gave the right answers. As the victim's head was crushed, their teeth would shatter into their jaw and their eyes would pop out of their sockets.
5 - Thumbscrew
Used as punishment or a method of extracting information, the victim’s fingers, thumbs or toes were placed between two horizontal metal bars. When the screw was turned, the two bars were pressed together, crushing the digits inside. Some thumbscrews even featured metal spikes on the bars to increase the pain.
6 - Choke pear
Also known as 'the pear of anguish,' this device was inserted into one of the victim's orifices, such as their mouth. When the key or crank was turned, the 'petals' of the pear-shaped end would slowly open up, painfully mutilating the victim's insides, but not causing death.
7 - Heretic's fork
Usually reserved for blasphemers, this metal rod with two prongs at either end was attached to a leather strap around the victim's neck. One end would pierce their chin, while the other dug into their sternum, causing immense pain if they attempted to move their jaw or neck, making it more or less impossible to talk.
8 - Lead sprinkler
Deceptively designed to look like a holy water sprinkler, this device was actually filled with molten lead, acid or boiling hot oil or water. The long handle was shaken to shower the victim's body with the substance inside. This caused horrific burns and was potentially lethal.
A great deal of ingenuity and artistic skill went into developing instruments that would inflict the maximum amount of pain. Often simply threatening to use one on a person was enough to get them to confess, while others would quickly give in after seeing it used on a fellow prisoner. An illustration from the page of an 18th century manuscript showing 'Persian torture' is shown
Torture was usually conducted in secret, such as in an underground dungeon. Fire torture on a wheel is shown
INSIDE A TORTURE CHAMBER
Torture has been used as a method of punishment and interrogation for centuries, with the ancient Greeks and Romans regularly torturing criminals as part of their justice system.
However, by the Middle Ages torture had become particularly prevalent, especially in response to crimes of treason. If you had been disloyal to the sovereign and your country, a whole plethora of horrifying torture devices awaited you.
Torture was usually conducted in secret, with most medieval castles featuring an underground dungeon in which these diabolical deeds took place.
A great deal of ingenuity and artistic skill went into developing instruments that would inflict the maximum amount of pain. Often simply threatening to use one on a person was enough to get them to confess, while others would quickly give in after seeing it used on a fellow prisoner.
Some torture devices were designed to only inflict pain, but others would result in a slow, drawn-out death that prolonged the suffering until the victim drew their last breath.
However, even if a prisoner was lucky enough to survive the torture, they were usually left severely disfigured and often had to be to be carried to their resulting trial, as they could no longer walk on their own.
From the mid-17th century onwards, torture became much less common as there was much speculation about its effectiveness.
Many prisoners would say anything to end their suffering, so it often produced inaccurate information or false confessions.
It wasn’t until 1948 that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, banning the use of torture.
Trepanning, which involves drilling a hole into the skull, was a popular treatment prescribed to allow the disease-causing evil spirits trapped inside to escape. This graphic shows other terrifying implements used by 'doctors' to treat ailments
MISERABLE MEDICINE
Nowadays, when feeling unwell, we can visit a clean hospital and receive tried and tested treatments from a doctor with years of medical training.
But for our ancestors throughout history were not quite so lucky when it came to health care. In medieval England for example, poor hygiene and filthy living conditions meant that disease was very common.
With little knowledge of the human anatomy, many illnesses were attributed to witchcraft, demons, the will of God or even the positions of celestial bodies.
Trepanning, which involves drilling a hole into the skull, was a popular treatment prescribed to allow the disease-causing evil spirits trapped inside to escape.
Others believed that diseases were caused by the fluids in the body becoming unbalanced, and so bloodletting – draining the blood from a particular part of the body – was thought to restore things to normal.
The ‘doctors’ who carried out these procedures were usually monks, as they tended to have a basic medical knowledge, or barbers or butchers who simply had the right tools for the job.
The equipment used was very rarely sterilised, as little was known about contamination, and procedures were carried out with no form of anaesthesia to numb the pain. It’s no wonder that people would put off seeking treatment for as long as possible.
A variety of gases were used during and after the First World War, to devastating effect. This graphic lists four of them. They can cause a range of nasty symptoms including coughing, burns, blisters, spam and eventually result in death
Napalm was famously used to devastating effect during the Vietnam War. Here, Kim Phuc Phan Thi, who was one of the children in the famous Nalpalm Girl' photograph shows her scars
WEAPONS OF WAR
On 22 April 1915, Germany shocked the world by launching the first large-scale gas attack in war.
After waiting several weeks for the wind to blow in the right direction, German soldiers released clouds of chlorine gas near the enemy trenches in Ypres, suffocating the unprepared Allied troops.
Although The Hague Convention of 1899 prohibited the use of poisonous weapons, Germany justified its actions by claiming that France had already broken the ban by deploying tear gas grenades in 1914.
The chlorine gas attack kick-started a chemical arms race and by the end of World War I, around 50 different chemicals had been used on the battlefield. The most prevalent were chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas, which would result in slow and painful deaths if soldiers were exposed to large enough quantities.
Eventually, gas masks were developed for protection, but chemicals such as mustard gas could still cause horrific blisters if they came into contact with the skin.
Among the most devastating chemical weapons are nerve agents, such as sarin, which attack the nervous system. Even small concentrations can be lethal, killing in mere minutes.
Napalm was famously used to devastating effect during the Vietnam War.
It is a flammable liquid with a gel-like consistency, allowing it to stick to surfaces easily. In a bomb, it is combined with gasoline or jet fuel to explode upon impact, capable of burning at more than 2,760 °C.
Even the slightest contact with skin can result in severe burns and it can also cause death by asphyxiation.
When ignited, napalm generates carbon monoxide and removes oxygen from the air, suffocating those in the vicinity.
In ancient times, Greek fire was used in a similarly ruthless way.
Developed by the Byzantine Greeks in the 7th century it was a flammable liquid that could burn on water, making it particularly effective for naval warfare.
This liquid fire was sprayed at the enemy using early flamethrower devices, or thrown in primitive hand grenades, creating a raging fire that could only be extinguished with sand, vinegar or urine.
The true ingredients are a mystery, but scientists believe it could have contained petroleum, sulphur and pine tar.
- How It Works magazine feature highlights some heinous inventions used in torture, war and medicine
- Includes methods of torture including the breaking wheel, so-called iron maiden and terrifying choke pear
- Graphic shows scary medical treatments including trepanning and a saw for amputating limbs
- Grisly methods of execution and weapons of war, such as poisonous gases, are also included in the feature
