You're Tearing Me Apart! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pear of Anguish

The pear of anguish or choke pear was a terrible device that was capable of killing a person. While it had the ability to act as a gag it was usually used for torture. It was also used in other orifices when punishing homosexuals, women who had committed adultery or women who had caused themselves to miscarry. First mentioned in the 17th century, there are many examples of these devices in museums throughout the world.

Answer: Thumbscrews

Thumbscrews were a commonly used torture device used in medieval Europe in the 14th century. They were still being used on American slaves in the 19th century. The device is a simple vice in which the digit was slowly crushed. There is evidence that alternate versions of this device may have been used to straighten girl's fingers in a manner similar to the used of braces on the teeth today.

Answer: Iron Maiden

An 'iron maiden' looks like an upright sarcophagus with spikes inside. There was usually a small opening through which the subject being tortured could be observed. According to other accounts it was a very ingenious execution device used by 'secret' courts to ensure that the victim's corpse would be mangled beyond recognition.

It is believed that this device was an invention of the Gothic imagination. There are no written accounts of this device before 1793, and those that were made were created for museums and collectors, and some were pieced together from odd suriving medieval metal bits.

Answer: Under the chin

This device was a heavy metal rod that had forks at both ends. One end was imbedded in the chest while the other end was propped under the chin. This instrument was often used as a punishment and was occasionally used as part of a sleep deprivation torture. The moment the exhausted victim let his head drop, the forks would go into his neck and cause great pain.

Answer: Women

A scold's bridle was used on women. It consisted of a metal cage for the head that had a metal plate with spikes, which protruded into the mouth, and over the tongue. A "scold" was a female, usually of the lower class, who talked in a scolding, nagging, or loud, unladylike manner.

The plate made it impossible to talk. The spikes did not inflict harm unless the female tried to talk at which time the tongue would get pierced severely. It was often used to inflict humiliation, and the wearer was often paraded around town.

Its use was first recorded in Scottish documents dated 1567.

Answer: Accused witches

While used on many different people for different reasons, dunking was a common form of torture and/or punishment on those who were believed to be witches. It was used for hundreds of years in Europe for a variety of crimes, both real and contrived, and also during the Salem Witch Trials.

While there were many versions, in most the subject was tied to a chair which was then hoisted up by a rope over scaffolding or a tree branch. The subject was repeatedly dunked into water over their head until almost dead in an attempt to get an admission by the subject that they were a witch. If they confessed they were then hanged or burned at the stake. If they did not confess they drowned during the dunking process.

This process has not altogether disappeared. During a combat survival training incident in Singapore a soldier from the Singapore Guards was killed during a dunking incident.

Answer: Germany

The Nuremberg Plate was a device used to elicit information or confessions or simply to cause fear and intimidation. The victim was strapped down and spun until the resulting centrifugal force caused extreme nausea, loss of all equilibrium, and regurgitation of stomach contents. It was recorded to have been used from the 15th century until the 18th century.

Answer: The Gibbet

The gibbet was a cage shaped somewhat like a human is which a usually deceased subject was encased and displayed in public. It was used as a warning to others. Occasionally a live subject was displayed temporarily, in the same manner that stocks were used, the public could then throw objects at or spit upon the subject.

Answer: False

The veracity of Chinese water torture is very questionable. There is no firm evidence that the Chinese ever used it. A form of it is first mentioned in 15th century Italian writings. It is possible that the name came from a Harry Houdini stunt. This practice, if it was ever used, would primarily have been a variantion of sleep deprivation practices.

Answer: False

Parrilla is a modern torture technique involving the use of electrical shocks and a metal chair. This barbaric practice is most often used in South America.