Happy
(?) National Beheading Day! A beheading “typically refers to
the act of intentional decapitation.” It is “quickly fatal to humans and most
animals as brain death occurs within seconds without circulating oxygenated
blood.” Beheadings have taken place for many years – thousands even – and were
used as a form of capital punishment.
My newly returned roommate, Mandy, recounted to
me a tale about the guillotine method of beheadings, which was thought to be
the best method in the 18th century. I looked into it, and it turns
out she was correct. The believe during this time, was that the brain would
function for approximately 10 seconds. Wikipedia states:
“The account of Dr. Beaurieux who observed the
decapitation of a convict named Languille in 1905, may imply that the head
could still see as he recounts "Next Languille's eyes very definitely
fixed themselves on mine and the pupils focused themselves" though there
are reasons to doubt the accuracy of Beaurieux's account.”
To
my surprise beheadings still take place today. Pakistan, Thailand, Saudi
Arabia, and Iraq all have relatively recent incidents of this practice taking
place. Yikes!
Vote
on today’s poll question, or off with your head! Click here to do so!
No comments:
Post a Comment