The most terrible torture and progress in the field of humanism

None of the areas of human knowledge showed so much imagination as in the ability to cause pain or sow death. And if the executions, depending on the degree of guilt of the condemned, could have been quick or long, then during the inquiry with "passion" the chief art of the executioner always consisted in maintaining the victim's clear consciousness throughout the execution.

The most terrible tortures were procedures lasting. In order for the suspect to be able to extradite the greatest number of his accomplices, to tell the details of the crime committed by him and to have time to confess everything, time did not spare.

According to scientists and historians, the "top" of the most terrible torture (it was believed that twenty of them - twice as many as the executions of Egypt) is headed by a common plant in Asian countries - bamboo. Grow these stems quickly, completely ignoring the emerging obstacles, and, cutting their end at an angle, you can achieve an amazing effect. In just a few hours, the body of the unfortunate will be pierced by ruthless sprouts. Quite enough to get the necessary testimony.

But this is Asia, and in Europe the most terrible torture has spread in the era of the Holy Inquisition. The riot of fantasy of medieval masters demonstrates technically advanced thinking.

If in Russia at this time the executioner, as a rule, managed an ax, or, in extreme cases, a rack, the Catholic champions of purity of morals used rather complicated mechanisms. Among them there is an "iron maiden" with a bicuspid front wall, provided with sharp spikes from the inside (opposite the most sensitive parts of the body), and a "Spanish boot" with clever crushing clamps, and a wheel (an ancient invention used specifically). Particularly effective was the "pear" with petals that opened inside different internal cavities, where it was thrust.

It's hard to even tell which of the 20 most terrible torture was worse. For example, a regular fork with teeth at both ends rested against the neck and chin. Her purpose is to force her to speak, although she was hindering her speech ability, causing unthinkable suffering at every attempt to say something. But the sentenced knew what was necessary, and gave the required testimony indistinctly, but inevitably.

The unbearable pain was caused by rats, sharp teeth gnawing their way to freedom through the flesh of the condemned. For their retention and direction there were special steel cells. Edgar Poe described and a terrible pointed crescent on a pendulum, with every stroke, sinking lower and lower. To invent such a device, it was necessary to have serious knowledge in the field of mechanics.

Were ways and easier. The man was seated on top of the pyramid and dragged down with straps so that the top as deep as possible went into his natural hole. To endure such mockery very few people could for long, there was a painful shock, so this method was not suitable in those cases when it was required to obtain the necessary information.

The most terrible tortures of the 20th century became widespread in countries with totalitarian forms of government. In the Gestapo and the NKVD, there were masters of shoulder cases, which had at their disposal a variety of tools, but if it was not enough, they were not lost and pinched the fingers (or other protruding parts of the body) under investigation by ordinary doors.

Representatives of special services of democratic states did not lag behind. During the Vietnam War, to obtain the necessary information, the partisans were hung up on a rope and raised by a helicopter higher. Used and the usual field phone, whose contacts were connected to the head and genitals. He twisted the handle - and order.

And yet, with progress in the field of psychotropic drugs, the most terrible torture is a thing of the past. Why torment the interrogated, and yourself too? It is enough to make an injection of "serum of truth", and the suspect himself will be happy to tell all. Continuous progress and humanism.