Unipod

Unipod from "Ruth of Boston"

A unipod is a kind of one-legged stool. There is at least one literary reference to a 17th century English teacher who used it as a punishment device in his classes.

Description

If a schoolchild failed to sit still on his or her seat, they would be made to sit on the unipod and balance on it for the rest of the lesson. The unipod forced them to sit still, and at the same time, it made it an ordeal. The child was not allowed to touch their hands to anything, and after a while, every muscle and joint in their bodies started to ache. The punishment, harmless as it seems, at first sight, is described as being grave and torturous.

Links

• Ruth of Boston by James Otis, chapter "Other tools of torture" that mentions the unipod punishment, with a drawing

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