Weird Historical Tickling

[Dr. Bill Kobb]

So, I'm making my way through a book called 2201 Fascinating Facts. It's old (1983 printing) and I picked it up at a thrift store for a buck. It's loosely divided into various sections, and under the pages about executions, there's the following little tidbit:

The Moravian Brothers, an evangelical Christian sect that originated in fifteenth-century Bohemia, believed in nonviolence and had a great abhorrence of bloodshed. Members of this community, however, were at times unavoidably called on to execute offenders. Their merciful way of doing so was to tickle their victims to death.​

😱


I'd heard rumors about the Russians and Chinese using tickling as torture, but this is the first time I'd run across anything about these people.

 

[Forben1]

I think there's a find somewhere of a woman and her husband being kidnapped by pirates. The husband was forced to watch as the captain kept tickling his wife's feet with a feather. It's a very, very old news article.

 

[Numbah-1]

I thought it was impossible for that to happen?!?

 

[arachnid95]

So, I'm making my way through a book called 2201 Fascinating Facts. It's old (1983 printing) and I picked it up at a thrift store for a buck. It's loosely divided into various sections, and under the pages about executions, there's the following little tidbit:

The Moravian Brothers, an evangelical Christian sect that originated in fifteenth-century Bohemia, believed in nonviolence and had a great abhorrence of bloodshed. Members of this community, however, were at times unavoidably called on to execute offenders. Their merciful way of doing so was to tickle their victims to death.​

😱


I'd heard rumors about the Russians and Chinese using tickling as torture, but this is the first time I'd run across anything about these people.

Now that is an interesting one! Methinks these guys really needed to reevaluate their idea of "merciful," though; I like being tickled, but being tickled to death has to be an unpleasant way to go... XD

I once heard a little tidbit somewhere myself. If I remember correctly, there was a certain queen--forgive me, but I can't remember for the life of me which--who enjoyed being tickled, and had a few servants whose sole job (I'm sorry for that, too...) was to tickle her feet with peacock feathers while she lounged on a little sofa thing.

EDIT: Sorry for that typo, I hope no one was offended... ^^;

 

[MistressValerie1]

I once heard a little tidbit somewhere myself. If I remember correctly, there was a certain queen--forgive me, but I can't remember for the life of me which--who enjoyed being tickled, and had a few servants whose job (I'm sorry for that, too...) was to tickle her feet with peacock feathers while she lounged on a little sofa thing.

I think that was Catherine the Great of Russia, although I'm not totally sure.

 

[arachnid95]

I think that was Catherine the Great of Russia, although I'm not totally sure.

Ah yes, I think that was it. The names rings a bell in the tickling department, at any rate. Many thanks, milady! 😀

 

[Mastertickler69]

@MistressValerie There was a movie made about it. I think it was called "the Great Catherine" Nice tickle scene in it. Catherine was tickling tied up (Actor Peter Otool) Utill he told her what she wanted to know. At one time she was using her feet to tickle him.

 

[BlasterMaster]

I thought it was impossible for that to happen?!?

Yes and no. It is possible to kill someone via asphyxiation with tickling but they would have to be tightly (and quite uncomfortably) restrained in a way that would prevent heavy breathing. All in all, it's not a pleasant way to go at all (it's basically akin to suffocation or drowning).

 

[BlasterMaster]

I think that was Catherine the Great of Russia, although I'm not totally sure.

According to ancient rumor she often had royal prisoners (both men and women) tickle tortured as well. Kind of unusual to find a monarch with that sort of kink in history but then again I believe they did have slave women as pony girls for races at the coliseum in Rome so it's not uncommon to find BDSM fetishes in historical record.

 

[Numbah-1]

Yes and no. It is possible to kill someone via asphyxiation with tickling but they would have to be tightly (and quite uncomfortably) restrained in a way that would prevent heavy breathing. All in all, it's not a pleasant way to go at all (it's basically akin to suffocation or drowning).

It seems like victims would pass out from before dying. I truly dont think its possible. If they pass out they wouldn't get a response while being tickled ya know? And if they stopped to wake the victims, they could recover or it seems they would remain un conscious till they got their breathe back lol Sounds far fetched

 

[arachnid95]

It seems like victims would pass out from before dying. I truly dont think its possible. If they pass out they wouldn't get a response while being tickled ya know? And if they stopped to wake the victims, they could recover or it seems they would remain un conscious till they got their breathe back lol Sounds far fetched

If a tickler is skilled enough, they can use just enough tickling force to keep the victim conscious, knowing when to back off and let them catch their breath and when to gun it and make them scream for mercy. If a treatment like this is sustained for long enough, the victim will eventually asphyxiate.

Of course, let's also keep in mind the fact that asphyxiation isn't the only way to tickle someone to death. Prolonged tickling, even if they do pass out at times, will gradually fatigue the body, to the point where their heart simply can't take the strain anymore and the victim dies of exhaustion. This can be made worse if the victim isn't fed, and depending on the victim's freedom of mobility, they can sustain injuries from the squirming and writhing caused by their tickle torture.

 

[dalekfire]

There may also be the case that some people are so excruciatingly ticklish that a sudden burst of ferocious tickle-torture can set off a molecular chain reaction in the person's nervous system, causing a massive acceleration of freak-out-y-ness which suddenly erupts in a massive explosion akin to that of the Tzar Bomba, destroying everything in a 25-mile radius.

Well at least that's what it feels like when said ticklish person accidently punches your lights out in reaction.

Yep, prolongued tickling, that makes more sense. ^^;

 

[Dr. Bill Kobb]

Someone out there should definitely do some deeper research on these "Moravian Brothers", and get to the bottom of this. Preferably someone who isn't terminally lazy like me.

 

[STW1]

I think there's a find somewhere of a woman and her husband being kidnapped by pirates. The husband was forced to watch as the captain kept tickling his wife's feet with a feather. It's a very, very old news article.

I think you are talking about this article from 1912: http://goo.gl/UzgSNq

 

[STW1]

Someone out there should definitely do some deeper research on these "Moravian Brothers", and get to the bottom of this. Preferably someone who isn't terminally lazy like me.

There is a reference to this on page 200 of a 1902 book titled Death and Sudden Death.