To add to that thought: Before THAT person died, someone ELSE had died in the previously most painful way possible, and at some point in the future someone else will probably find an even MORE painful way to die that we can’t even imagine.
At some point it will probably reach a limit where one needs to be unusually susceptible to pain to die an even more painful death.
That’s assuming all the pain happens within a given span of time. As long as we can keep lengthening human lifespans, the length of a painful death can keep stretching out.
To be clear, I’m not happy about this thought, I’ve just thought about the worst ways to die a lot more than is healthy.
Well, the topic is horrible but since we are already at it why not just get it done with?
Would a too prolonged suffering count as a painful death if the person is not dying for most of it? Many people live with chronic pains but I wouldn’t count that.
If you’re intentionally torturing them to death the entire time, I think it’d count.
But for that they would need to be increasingly weakened without the chance to recover, and there is only so far that can be pushed. If it’s just prolonged torture that doesn’t make the person any closer to death, then it’s just torture.
Who’s to say they couldn’t be allowed to partially recover? What is somebody sanded off 2mm of skin, rotating locations such that they only hit the same spot every 3 days, for instance? This type of permanently damaging long-term torture could be made to drag on for years and steadily march the victim towards death.
Feels like that going against the spirit of the thing. If they are recovering, it isn’t a dying process.
Morbid curiosity piqued, has a person ever been spaced? (Not just vacuumed)
The closest would be the Soyuz 11 disaster. A seal on the re-entry vehicle was damaged when the capsule detached prior to re-entry. Terrible way to go I imagine.
Cant be too far from drowning in a ship.
More pleasant, probably. Drowning takes a bit. Zero pressure results in a near instant blackout.
Presumably there could have been a point where someone drifted gently off to wherever it is we all go, comfortable and surrounded by loved ones, and in their naivety everyone present thought “oh how awful”.
I’ve been on the Internet for a while now and I can safely assure you that the those even more painful ways of dying may not have happened yet, but someone certainly thought then up already.
They died in the most painful way possible so far
Oh, I’m hearing some cereal killer aspirations.
*No one is going to convince me it’s spelt any differently
deleted by creator
Fortunately, when pain gets too extreme, it flips a breaker of sorts in your brain and you stop feeling it so much. Happens during really catastrophic trauma, presumably to keep the pain from distracting you too much from your (at that point probably necessary) fight or flight reactions.
Adrenaline is part of it, but I don’t think it’s solely responsible, as its not always present in accounts. Sometimes people can be very calm.
That’s why psychological torture is preferred by a lot of “advanced interrogators”.
Keep someone locked in the same uncomfortable position for days while you’re blasting aggressive disorienting sounds and randomly flashing blinding lights in a room with mirrors.
Once in a while, take them and do a few hours of water boarding. Make sure they’re constantly sleep deprived and can never get more than a few minutes of sleep.
Then when you do want to inflict physical pain, focus on the feet very slowly. Feet is one of the most sensitive areas. Slowly start peeling the skin or stick nails through the toes, or practice some electroshock therapy.
Honestly torture is terrifying. I recently read a long form article about it. Worst part is, our “civilized” governments still do this with some amount of regularity. Would be more civilized to put a bullet in the head.
Then think about near future where we can read thoughts (like 1984 where the “advanced interrogator” reads the protagonists mind to figure out what his greatest fear is) or even worse implant thoughts. They could implant images of you murdering your family or something. There’s a lot of potential for some horrifying stuff.
Where did you get to know this? I want to read about it
Someone has certainly died more painfully than anyone else, but they haven’t necessarily died in the most painful way possible.
That’s true. Fair enough.
deleted by creator
What about total cumulative pain suffered? If somebody particularly nasty managed to find a way to continuously torture a person while staying just below the threshold of complete organ failure, and the victim was artificially kept alive and suffering for several years, that would tick both your criteria at the same time
deleted by creator
I wonder if someone can give any examples of these painful ways to die
The guy that got stuck upside down in a cave for hours is pretty horrifying.
He died via heart attack tho iirc so…not so bad?
It took days and they broke his legs trying to recover him, pretty bad I’d say
Ok but that’s not how he died. That’s what happened before he died. In terms of the whole experience yeah no bueno
Ok but that’s not how he died.
Everybody dies because their brain stops sending signals… The experience is part of it
I feel like the real torture was done to his brother and friends.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazen_bull
"The brazen bull … was an alleged torture and execution device designed in ancient Greece. … The bull was said to be hollow and made entirely out of bronze with a door in one side. According to legends, the brazen bull was designed in the form and size of an actual bull and had an acoustic apparatus that converted screams into the sound of a bull. The condemned were locked inside the device, and a fire was set under it, heating the metal until the person inside was roasted to death.
“Stories allege after finishing construction on the execution device, Perilaus said to Phalaris: “His screams will come to you through the pipes as the tenderest, most pathetic, most melodious of bellowings.” Perilaus believed he would receive a reward for his invention. Instead, Phalaris, who was disgusted by these words, ordered its horn sound system to be tested by Perilaus himself, tricking him into getting in the bull. When Perilaus entered, he was immediately locked in and the fire was set, so that Phalaris could hear the sound of his screams. Before Perilaus could die, Phalaris opened the door and took him away. After freeing him from the bull, Phalaris is then said to have taken Perilaus to the top of a hill and thrown him off, killing him. Phalaris himself is claimed to have been killed in the brazen bull when he was overthrown by Telemachus, the ancestor of Theron.”
My bet would be cartel torture with adrenaline to keep the victim awake.
That’s cruel
I would imagine some of the worst are rare conditions that take you from the inside out. I can’t find reference to the name of the disease, but I swear I remember seeing a bone condition that caused spiky growths, almost like crystals, to form from your bones.
It would be slow and excruciating and you would beg for death long before it ever came.
I think thats bone cancer. Its awful… I hope they find a cure or just instantly encourage euthanasia. No one should go trough that ever…
deleted by creator
Oh my god. First time I heard of this. Gruesome. And it’s sad that most of the ones killed are because of honor.
The way they dealt with the ‘rulers’ in the mustard uprising in Europe come to mind.
Dan Carlin did a whole hours long pod cast on it.
I was extremely confused trying to remember if Dan did an episode about mustard. But yeah that ep was brutal and entertaining!
Oh… I… I just assumed it was spelt mustard. Figured the word is like 6000 years old…
Cheers.
His name was Stan and it was documented in the movie Volcano
Complete proton reversal?
And it could happen to you!
Cheers bro, I’ll drink to that
Yes they did. And here’s their story: https://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-48-prophets-of-doom/
Warning: hardcore history really earns its name in this episode. And you may wish you could un-hear some of the things you’ll hear in this podcast.
Well I’m not so sure I want to listen now
