i learned that Treadmills Were Originally Created as a Form of Torture
The treadmill was invented as a rehabilitation device by a British man named William Cubitt in 1818. It was originally designed as a way to make prisoners more productive by milling corn, and pumping water at the same time. However it became a popular “atonement” device for lower level criminals.
It was a lot like the sport of log-rolling, only instead of falling safely into the water, participants would end up falling onto the hard ground below, and run the risk of becoming gravely injured.
Cubitt created several different versions of the treadmill. The most popular one was originally located at Brixton Prison in London and consisted of a wide wheel that prisoners had to run on. It could hold 24 prisoners. Most included partitions to prevent the prisoners from socializing.
The treadmill proved to be so popular that half of all prisons had them by 1842. Those unlucky enough to receive this punishment often did so for up to ten hours per day. One of the most famous people to endure it was Oscar Wilde, during his imprisonment for gross indecency.
The popularity of the treadmill, however declined. The British started to emphasize education as a means to rehabilitate their prisoners. Many argued that the treadmill was a dangerous practice that led to an unusually high death rate of prisoners. By 1898, they were outlawed.
Designs for a new type of treadmill designed for exercise emerged in 1913 when American inventor CL Hagen was issued a patent for a “training-machine.”
Later on, an American engineer named William Staub would create the modern form of the treadmill, called the Pacemaster 600.
Today, treadmills are one of the most popular types of exercise equipment in the world, though I’m pretty sure they are still considered to be a type of torture for some.
Imagine if this predecessor of gymnastic treadmill is still used in 20th through 21st century, it will be useful for dictators to crush rebels and dissidents. Rather than directly execute them, just put the rebellious subjects to paddle this giant hamster wheel until they exhausted, physically and psychologically, then dies.
Instead crushing grains or pump water, use it to to generate electricity. Just connect those giant treadwheels to power generator. In addition, put gearbox in the middle of the device to connect treadwheel and generator, and to increase rotational per minute then increase the power output similar to wind turbine.