The treadmill's dark and twisted past - Conor Heffernan

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-treadmill-s-dark-and-twisted-past-conor-heffernan The constant thud underneath your feet. The constrained space. The monotony of going nowhere...

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The constant thud underneath your feet,the constrained space,and the monotony of going nowhere fast.It feels like hours have gone by, but it's only been eleven minutes,and you wonder,"Why am I torturing myself?This thing has got to be considered a cruel and unusual punishment."Actually, that's exactly what it is, or was.You see, in the 1800s,treadmills were created to punish English prisoners.At the time, the English prison system was abysmally bad.Execution and deportation were often the punishments of choice,and those who were locked away faced hours of solitude in filthy cells.So social movements led by religious groups, philanthropies,and celebrities, like Charles Dickens,sought to change these dire conditions and help reform th...