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A historical illustration of prisoners stepping on a large paddle wheel, known as the "tread-wheel," used for punishment and labor in the 1800s.

From Mental Floss Exercising on a treadmill can often feel like torture and that’s not a coincidence.  In 1818, an English civil engineer named Sir William Cubitt devised a machine called the “tread-wheel” to reform stubborn and idle convicts. Prisoners would step on the 24 spokes of a large paddle wheel, climbing it like a […]

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