somebody23 said:
Oh no ... I just searched the web and found out that you can indeed tickle a person to DEATH ... it was said that in the ancient rome and china, they used to feather the soles non-stop for hours and hours until the person first got insane and then in the end, died...
I'm lured to become a Tickle Murderer! (only a joke) 😀
But it caught my eye... and the other method was salting the soles of the feet (again, classic body-part) and the goats licked the soles covered in salt and the torturers put more salt into the soles over and over again, until death claimed.
I'm really interested in that matter ^^
Chinese: I think the Chinese were officially credited with the invention of Tickle Torture in a 1973 article in Popular Science, authored by Anthropologist Margaret Mead. It should be noted that tickling had been used for centuries by the Chinese as a sexual stimulant usually associated with the overly sensitive plantar of the "Lotus Foot," revealed after years of restrictive binding.
Romans: There is an article in a book called "The Smart Dope" (1978 Ballantine Books) in which the ancient Romans are mentioned to have used Tickle Torture as a means of execution. However, if you read the article, you'll find that tickling was merely the preliminary torment in an otherwise lengthy ordeal that would have caused death even without the tickling.
The victim was tied face up on a wooden scaffold under the hot sun and coated with vinegar. His bare feet were also coated in brine and goats were employed to lick the brine from the soles of the feet. In the beginning, the sensation was that of tickling, causing hysterics, but after several hours of having the soles recoated and fresh goats brought in to continue an unrelenting pattern of licking, the skin would begin to rub away from the raspy tongues of the goats, causing inhuman pain and suffering. The victim would eventually die of exposure associated with exhaustion and an overload of pain after several DAYS.
Torture of the Goats' Tongue: This was apparently used in England, Germany, Italy and France from what I have researched over the years. Same principle as above, but with variations that include stocks, and sometimes compression of the chest with leather harnesses, or heavy stones. The tickling to death, in this case was caused by suffocation due to the chest compression, NOT just tickling alone.
One of the more popular historical references to tickling used as torture would be that of Empress Catherine II (1762 - 1796 [Catherine The Great]). It is noted in some documents that Catherine had this torture performed on prisoners for long periods at a time. There isn't any mention of instruments or goats being used, so one is left to assume that the tickling was administered with skilled fingers to helplessly bound victims for whatever duration Catherine saw fit.
Tickle Torture-related documentation is scarce at best, but when it is noted, it is never the romatic image we create in our minds about dungeons and towers and beautiful maidens with unspoiled alabaster feet locked into stocks and playfully, yet sadistically tickled to melodious laughter and pleas.
