WThe Breast Ripper, known in another form as the Iron Spider or simply The Spider, was a torture instrument mainly used on women who were accused of adultery or self-performed abortion. The instrument was designed to rip the breasts from a woman and was made from iron, which was usually heated.
WA cattle prod, also called a stock prod or a hot stick, is a handheld device commonly used to make cattle or other livestock move by striking or poking them. An electric cattle prod is a stick with electrodes on the end which is used to make cattle move through a relatively high-voltage, low-current electric shock. The electric cattle prod is said to have been invented by Texas cattle baron Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. of the King Ranch around 1930, although versions were sold as early as 1917.
WA garrote or garrote vil is a weapon, most often a handheld ligature of chain, rope, scarf, wire or fishing line, used to strangle a person.
WThe Iron Chair is a torture device that has several different variations depending on its origin and use throughout history. It also has many names - the Chinese torture chair, the torture chair, and the Iron Chair. In all cases, the victim was seated on several strips or plates of brass and placed over an open flame and slowly roasted alive. In other variations, the "culprits" were tied to an iron armchair and then slowly pushed nearer and nearer to a blazing fire." Other versions of this chair had the addition of small sharp spikes which lined the back, seat, armrests and leg rests. The number of spikes ranged from 500 to 1,500.
WA Taser is an electroshock weapon sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the target, at 180 feet per second. Their range extends from 15 feet for non-law enforcement Tasers to 35 feet for police officer Tasers. The darts are connected to the main unit by thin insulated copper wire and deliver a modulated electric current designed to disrupt voluntary control of muscles, causing "neuromuscular incapacitation". The effects of a Taser device may only be localized pain or strong involuntary long muscle contractions, based on the mode of use and connectivity of the darts.
WTripalium or trepalium a Latin term believed to name a torture instrument consisting of "three stakes", and commonly thought to be the source for several common modern words, including travail (French), trabajo (Spanish), travaglio (Italian), trabalho (Portuguese), traballo (Galician), treball (Catalan), trivalliu, traballu and travel, travail (English). Save for the English and the Italian words, all of these mean "work". This theory has been contested.
WWaterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized captive, causing the person to experience the sensation of drowning. In the most common method of waterboarding, the captive's face is covered with cloth or some other thin material and immobilized on his/her back at an incline of 10 to 20 degrees. Torturers pour water onto the face over the breathing passages, causing an almost immediate gag reflex and creating a drowning sensation for the captive. Normally, water is poured intermittently to prevent death. However, if the water is poured uninterruptedly it will lead to death by asphyxia, also called dry drowning. Waterboarding can cause extreme pain, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, and lasting psychological damage. Adverse physical effects can last for months, and psychological effects for years. The term "water board torture" appeared in press reports as early as 1976.