Top 10 Punishments/Crazy laws

10) The Brazen Bull

The Brazen Bull was a hollow brass statue crafted to resemble a real bull. Victims were placed inside,
usually with their tongues cut out first. The door was shut, sealing them in. Fires would then be lit around the
bull. As the victim succumbed to the searing heat inside, he would thrash about and scream in agony. The
movements and sounds, muted by the bull's mass, made the apparatus appear alive, the sounds inside like
those of a real bull. This effect created additional amusement for the audience, and served the added benefit
of distancing them from the brutality of the torture, since they couldn't directly see the victim.

9) Thumbscrews
Thumbscrews represent a very insidious form of torture. You weren't likely to die from their use, but they
created unendurable agony. The device consisted of three upright metal bars, between which the thumbs
were placed. A wooden bar slid down along the metal bars, pressing the thumbs against the bottom. A screw
pressed the wood bar downward, crushing the thumbs painfully. The thumbscrews were an elaboration of an
earlier device known as the pilliwinks, which could crush all 10 fingers and resembled a nutcracker

8) The Rack
The rack was used throughout Europe for centuries. The victim is tied down while some mechanical device,
usually a crank or turning wheel, tightens the ropes, stretching the victim's body until the joints are
dislocated. Continued pressure could cause the limbs to be torn right off. Such torture was known as being
"broken on the rack," "racked," or "stretched on the rack." It could be combined with other forms of torture to
make things even more painful.

7) The Pillory
The Pillory remained in use even later than the stake. A pillory is a set of two parallel wooden boards
clasped together, with holes for the neck and wrists. When opened, the victim places his or her head and
arms through the holes. Then the pillory is closed, and the victim can't possibly escape.
The pillory itself does no harm to the victim, though it's certainly not comfortable. The entire apparatus was
usually placed on a stage in a public place -- the entire point was to humiliate and shame the victim for his or
her crimes. The crowd would throw objects at the victim, such as rotten vegetables, dead animals or feces.
Stones and other blunt objects were thrown as well, which could result in painful injuries or death.

6) The Wheel
Early torturers were fond of tying someone to a large wooden wheel, then pushing it down a rocky hillside. A
more elaborate method involved a wheel mounted to an A-frame that allowed it to swing freely. The victim
would be tied to the wheel, and then swung across some undesirable thing below -- fire was always a good
choice, but dragging the victim's flesh across metal spikes also worked well. The wheel itself could also have
spikes mounted on it, so the pain came from all directions. Instead of swinging, the wheel might turn on an
axle. The difference was likely immaterial to the victims.

5) The Stake

Being burned at the stake was usually the last stop for torture victims, because this form of torture was
invariably fatal.


4) Head Crusher
This horrible device was used frequently during the Spanish Inquisition. The victims chin was put on the bar
on the bottom and his head beneath the cap on the top. The torturer would then turn the screw and press
the bar and cap together. This would compress the skull, shattering the victims teeth. The compression
would continue for hours. Eventually the eyeballs would pop out of the sockets.


3) Crocodile Tube
The crocodile tube wasn't common, but it was used to kill many infidels and thieves. The victim was fixed
inside a tube just big enough for the victim's entrance. The tube, having crocodile teeth-like spikes, was
slowly compressed leaving the victim totally immobilized. The torturer could only see his face and feet. With
the help of carbon and fire underneath the tube, the torturer gradually heated the tube until he extracted a
confession or killed the victim. The former was most common, as this is one of the cruelest and most painful


tortures ever used on human beings. With the face and feet exposed, the torturer was able to inflict painful
wounds on the victim. Facial mutilation and toe ripping were preferred choices.

2) Wife Selling
During medieval times, women were completely subordinated to their husbands. After marriage, the husband
and wife became one legal entity, a legal status known as coverture. During this time in history, married
women could not own property in their own right, and were, indeed, themselves the property of their
husbands. It is unclear when the ritualized custom of selling a wife by public auction first began, but written
records indicate it was some time towards the end of the 17th century. In most reports, the sale was
announced in advance, perhaps by advertisement in a local newspaper.

1) Rat Torture
Rats, cute as they may be, arent exactly the nicest little creatures when they feel cornered. Medieval sadists
were well aware of that when they placed one in a metal cage, which they then placed on the exposed belly
of a condemned man. The floor of the cage would be removed, and the top would be heated by flame it
didnt take long for the rat to realize the only way out was through the soft flesh of the poor bastard he was
sitting on. The rats would eat through the person causing extreme pain and death.