• @[email protected]
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    656 days ago

    The spectacle of the guillotine was part of its function. There were easier ways to kill aristocrats, but there deaths were also a message, and smothering them in their sleep isn’t as effective as a public execution with 6 meter tal technological marvel.

    • @[email protected]
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      6 days ago

      Guillotine: old, cumbersome, hard to find, frankly boring to a modern audience

      Woodchipper: easy to find, easy to transport, new and exciting, sends a message

    • peopleproblems
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      176 days ago

      I guess the modern day equivalent is a security camera the guy clearly was aware of and the internet.

    • @Brainsploosh
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      86 days ago

      Iirc, it was also a newfangled, more effective/humane method, and a symbol of progress.

      • peopleproblems
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        56 days ago

        Crazy to think something so gruesome is pretty damn painless and quick.

        • @Dadifer
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          46 days ago

          Yeah, but then the blades get dull, and you have to do it a couple times.

          • peopleproblems
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            46 days ago

            Well this is not a fun fact I was aware of.

            I just sort of thought it was heavy enough that it pretty much didn’t fail

            • @Dadifer
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              36 days ago

              You’re rethinking your billionaire-killing strategy?

              • peopleproblems
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                26 days ago

                Nothing to do with that. I just didn’t realize the dull blade was a thing. As far as I know it was used in capital punishment outside of the revolution as well, and that’s where I was lacking the knowledge