The Dark Origins of Treadmills: From Torture Devices to Fitness Tools

Learn about the treadmill’s torture device origins. Then, author Melanie Peffer explains why biology is everywhere.

Treadmills were originally torture devices by Steffie Drucker

• Protin, C., & Stuart, M. (2017, April 13). Treadmills were originally used as torture devices for prisoners. Business Insider; Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/treadmills-torture-device-prisoners-treadwheel-victorian-britian-crime-prison-2017-4
• Treadmills Were Meant to Be Atonement Machines | JSTOR Daily. (2018, May 2). JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/treadmills-were-meant-to-be-atonement-machines/
• The National Archives. (2021). A Victorian prison - The National Archives. The National Archives. https://doi.org/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm
• BBC. (2017, January 9). Free Thinking - The dark history of the treadmill. BBC; BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4w8bVrKRqQDP4fKl0b8XzdW/the-dark-history-of-the-treadmill
• The Torturous History of the Treadmill. (2021). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/history-of-the-treadmill/

Additional resources from Melanie Peffer:

• Pick up "Biology Everywhere: How the Science of Life Matters to Everyday Life" from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3wQQVOA
• Melanie's TED-Ed lesson on the neuroscience discoveries of artist Santiago Ramón y Cajal: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-artist-who-won-a-nobel-prize-in-medicine-melanie-e-peffer
• Melanie Peffer's website: https://www.melaniepeffer.com/
• Melanie Peffer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Melanie_Peffer
• Melanie Peffer on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelaniePefferPhD

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