When English civil Engineer Sir William Cubitt invented the “treadwheel,” he didn’t have fitness on his mind.
His device was used to reform convicts.
Prisoners were forced to climb the spokes of a large paddle wheel known as the “eternal staircase.” The resulting energy was used to pump water or crush grain (hence, the eventual transition from “treadwheel” to “treadmill”).
One prison guard claimed that it was the treadmill’s “monotonous steadiness, and not its severity, which constitutes its terror.”
The use of treadwheels was abolished in Britain by the Prisons Act of 1898. Years later, when aerobic exercise became popular in the 1960’s, the treadmill resurfaced.
Probably just outlawed it as a form of punishment or torture.
Using a tread wheel in a mill, crane or for dewatering is ancient, think Ancient Greece. Up until the Industrial Revolution, it was a major source of power where you couldn’t get flowing water on a consistent basis. Use for fitness doesn’t constitute torture by the state.
For the uninitiated:
Was the law ever changed to allow for personal use of the treadmill? Or did this just extend to using it as a form of torture?
Probably just outlawed it as a form of punishment or torture.
Using a tread wheel in a mill, crane or for dewatering is ancient, think Ancient Greece. Up until the Industrial Revolution, it was a major source of power where you couldn’t get flowing water on a consistent basis. Use for fitness doesn’t constitute torture by the state.
Tbh, that’s not a bad idea on a technical perspective.