Conor Heffernan details the dark and distorted history of the treadmill. [Directed by Yukai Du, narrated by Addison Anderson, with music played by WORKPLAYWORK and Cem Misirlioglu]. The soles of the feet are constantly thumping, space is limited, and the monotony is boring. It feels like a few hours have passed, but only 11 minutes, and you're wondering, "Why should I torture myself?" This must be considered a cruel and unusual punishment. In fact, this is what the past or the past looked like. You will see that in the 1800s, treadmills were created to punish British prisoners.
At the time, the British prison system was very bad. Executions and deportations are often punishments of choice, while those locked out face hours of solitude in dirty cells. So social movements led by religious groups, charities, and celebrities such as Charles Dickens sought to change these harsh conditions and help rehabilitate prisoners. After the success of the operation, the entire prison was remodeled and new forms of modification were adopted, such as treadmills.
This is how the original version, invented by British engineer Sir William Cubitt, works in 1818. The prisoner stepped on the 24 spokes of a large paddle wheel. When the wheels turned, the prisoners were forced to keep going or risk falling, similar to modern steppers. At the same time, the rotation causes the gears to pump water out, and crush the grain or the power plant, which is the name of the "treadmill". The devices were considered a brilliant way to whip prisoners, and the powerful advantages of the processing plants helped rebuild the British economy destroyed by the Napoleonic Wars. This is a victory for all concerned, except for the prisoners.
It is estimated that the average inmate spends about 6 hours a day on a treadmill, which equates to climbing 5,000 to 14,000 feet. 14,000 feet is about the midpoint of Mount Everest. Imagine eating very little five days a week. Cubitt's ideas quickly spread to the British Empire and the United States. In the decade of its creation, more than 50 British prisons boasted treadmills, and the number of prisons in the United States is similar. Not surprisingly, fatigue combined with malnutrition has left many prisoners devastated and hurt, and not prison guards’ care. In 1824, New York prison guard James Hardie tamed the device, taming his livelier prisoners, and wrote: "The monotonous solidity, not its severity, constitutes its horror," and many still agree with it.
Treadmills were used in England until the late 19th century, when treadmills were banned because the use of the Prisons Act of 1898 was prohibited from being too cruel. But, of course, the torture device returned with a vengeance, this time against an unsuspecting public. In 1911, the treadmill was patented in the United States, and by 1952, the pioneer of today's treadmill was born. In the 1970s, when jogging swept the U.S., the treadmill was back in the spotlight, and it was an easy and convenient way to improve health through aerobic exercise and reduce excess weight, and to be fair, it did a good job. The machine has remained popular ever since.
So, the next time you voluntarily accept a punishment that was once cruel and unusual, just be glad you can control it when you get out of the car.
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