This Week's Top 5.

Number 5: Euthenasia Roller Coaster. This has one of the best names I've seen in a while. 

The idea behind this thing is to give the passengers the most euphoric experience before they die. So far all thats been done for this beauty is a lot of concept. However the idea behind it is to apply so much g-force the passengers die from cerebral hypoxia, the lack of air to the brain. The trains last stop would drop off the corpses. Now this isn't a very gruesome death or bloody. However something about it is just magically dark. Imagine if they put these in amusement parks and you accidentally got on. I love the image complete with evil clowns and overpriced tickets. Pretty evil if you ask me.

Number4: Forced Suicide. I like the sound of forced suicide. It plays into a lot of mental torture before forcing a victim to off themself. Often the victim was convinced the other options were much worse, or their families were murdered / tortured. Although common in history is the honorary suicide. This is a lot less fun so we wont talk about it. Forced suicide is also usually done by people not willing to be taken prisoner.

Number 3: Crucifixion. A lot of people sort of know what this is. Jesus made it kind of popular, so good for him. A crucifixion's purpose was often to sway onlookers against committing crimes. This was a slow, painful and humiliating method of torture. Victims weren't always nailed to the cross either, in fact a lot of them were simply tied then beaten and tortured. The victims would also almost always have a spike going through their groin.  

Number 2: Poena cullei. This was used on those who were convicted of parricide. The victim was sewn into a leather sack along with live animals. Then they were thrown into the water. Before this, the person was often beaten or whipped severely. Then his head covered in wolf hide and they put wooden shoes on his feet. For some reason I can't take this one seriously but it lightens up the mood. It just seems hilarious, like some sort of trouble you would see idiots in a show getting into. 

Number 1: The Bataan Death March. This wasn't a specific method or anything but it was still extremely brutal. Imperial Japanese forces forced american and filipino POWs to march 80 miles to a camp. Along the way the japanese would brutally beat down or shoot anyone slowing the march down. There were reports of soldiers trying to carry friends the rest of the way and failing only to have the whole group shot. Soldiers would dash to try and drink filthy puddles of water and would get shot.  The japanese were merciless. They also did not supply the soldiers with any kind of rations and when they go to their destination there still was hardly anything. Once they finally arrived to the camp it was in filthy conditions and dysentery and other diseases ran rampant. That is why the Bataan Death March is number 1.

THIS WEEKS TOP 5 IN TORTURE.

*disclaimer some of these posts starting now will also include methods of execution that may not be torturous but still extremely brutal.

Number 5. Blood Eagle: This is an old favorite I'd forgotten about temporarily until I was reading some more Nordic myths. The Blood Eagle is a method of torture used mainly in Nordic Saga Legends. 

First thing to be done to the victim is to cut open the back and break the ribs to resemble bloody wings. Then through the wounds in the back the lungs were pulled through. Finally they would salt the wounds. This is one of those torture / execution things that makes me believe murder can be an art, and I honestly love it. Now there is some debate on if this was used purely in legends or if it does have a historic background. It is believed the Pagans may have done this to the Christians out of hatred. 

Number 4. Spanish Tickler. So with a name like this you'd think this would be a really fun idea. Well it really is. Assuming you're like me and your idea of a fun night out with your favorite girl involves long iron spikes attached to a handle and some innocents. 

The Spanish Tickler or Cat's paw was crafted just right to shred through flesh without worrying about the bones. It was mainly used on Thieves and Adulterers. These claws were never washed and victims would almost never become fatally wounded from them directly. Because of the dirty blades sinking deep into your flesh you would most likely die slowly from infections. 

Number 3. Bamboo. Ah, torture via bamboo is a glorious thing. Well for the bamboo. Most of us here know what bamboo looks like, Tall green wood. So I'm sure a lot of people wonder "Wow Tim how do we kill someone with bamboo, bash em over the head?" and to those people I would say BE CREATIVE. In Asia they were very creative. Victims would be tied on top of several bamboo shoots. Now a semi known fact about bamboo is it grows very fast. About a foot per day. So over the course of the torture the bamboo would force its way through the victims body eventually impaling them. Very, very slowly.

Number 2. Hanged, Drawn and Quartered. It is widely believed this was one of the MOST brutal forms of execution. It was used mostly in England and was a 3-part deal. This packaged deal was usually given to people who committed high treason. However for public decency women instead were simply burned at the stake. Now Step one to this fun process is to first fasten the convict onto a hurdle or wooden panel. then that was tied to a horse by long rope and the horse dragged the convict to his destination. On arrival they were hanged, only to near death. Next they were emasculated (the painful removal of the male genitals). After this they were disembowlled, beheaded, and chopped into four pieces. Each piece cut off would be displayed somewhere the public would see.

Number 1. Auschwitz. This may be a touchy one for some people, so I will keep this one a bit more civil leaving out any kind of humor or smart ass comments about it and make this purely informational. Auschwitz actually had three sub camps in a large area. They were simply Auschwitz I, II, or III. Life in camps like these were horrific. Prisoners had a scheduled day, beginning with standing perfectly still for four hours and eventually being forced to squat while receiving beatings from the guards. Even the dead had to be counted, the living had to support them up so they could be accounted for or the living were given severe beatings. After this the prisoners in groups of five wearing just a cloth over their body and wooden shoes without socks walked to their work stations. The working day in the summer was twelve hours and in the winter it was hardly shorter. Most of the work was construction with the only breaks being very short bathroom breaks which were monitored. On sunday the work day consisted of cleaning the camp and their weekly bath. On sundays they were also allowed to write letters to their families which were only allowed to be in german. The afternoon had another roll call where prisoners stood still until every single person was accounted for, regardless of weather conditions. Finally they were given violent punishments depending on what went wrong that day before finally being allowed to retire to their beds and were given a bread and water ration. Keep in mind on top of this everyday there executions, experiments on the living and everyone was crammed into as tight of a space as possible. This doesn't even cover a small sliver of the horrors concentration camps brought upon their victims. That is why Auschwitz is number 1.