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History’s most gruesome inventions

From brutal torture devices to bizarre medical treatments, these terrifying contraptions reveal a darker side of innovation
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Issue 174
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Welcome
INCREDIBLE HISTORY
BOOK OF What were the first cities of
Ancient History
Mesopotamia: The creators of civilisation
Discover how society as we know it began in a small region of modern day Iraq
How Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii
THE GENIUS OF ANCIENT GREECE
How the inventions, discoveries and culture of this great civilisation changed the world
The Acropolis
Athens’ defining citadel became an enduring symbol of ancient Greek architecture
Innovations and inventions
The ancient Greeks devised many clever mechanisms and systems that are still used today
The art of mummification
Mummies have been found in many parts of the world, but Egyptian mummies are the most well-known due to their distinctive appearance and unique embalming process
Britain’s tribal territories
Before the Roman invasion in 55 BCE, Britain was characterised by a large number of ancient tribes, each with its own culture
The Terracotta Army
Learn about China’s ancient warriors for the afterlife
10 WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
Take a tour of history’s greatest human-made landmarks and discover how they were built
Buildings, Places & Landmarks
The Washington Monument
Inside the US capital’s iconic marble obelisk that commemorates the achievements of the nation’s first president
Windmills
Find out how these towers have helped harness wind power throughout history
The history of Central Park
How did such a huge area of New York City become a green space?
Florence Cathedral
Crowned with the largest masonry dome in the world, Florence Duomo is a Renaissance masterpiece
How was the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling painted?
Explore the tools and techniques behind Michelangelo’s lofty Renaissance masterpiece
The Globe Theatre’s story
The most famous and historic theatre in Britain – if not the world – the Globe was the original home to William Shakespeare’s greatest plays
What went wrong at Chernobyl?
Learn how a runaway reaction led to a nuclear disaster…
Weapons & War
HISTORY'S DEADLIEST WARRIORS
Lethal fighters who could strike fear into the hearts of even the most battle-hardened enemy
SPIES THROUGH HISTORY
The secrets of espionage through the ages
Meet the musketeers
One of the most popular military units for centuries, musketeers fought in battles and protected esteemed rulers all the way from France to India
Sikorsky MH-60 Black Hawk
Designed for special operations in hostile environments, this was a new kind of war machine, built for a new kind of battlefield
Industry & Invention
The brazen bull
Turning the screams of the dying into the roar of a beast
Crucifixion
Devised over 2,500 years ago as punishment for
Guillotine
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were both publicly
Electric chair
Electrocution was adopted as a quicker and supposedly
Inside a torture chamber
The terrifying devices that inflicted intense pain
Miserable medicine
The medical practices that did more harm than good
Weapons of war
The chemical arms race changed warfare forever
Colossus computer
How the first programmable digital computer helped bring WWII to an end
Rack-and-pinion railways
How did these unique transit systems help hefty locomotives scale steeper mountain slopes than ever before?
EUREKA!
10 accidental discoveries that changed the world
PREHISTORIC PAINTING
How these ancient artworks provide a rare insight into the lives of Palaeolithic humans
Hand stencils
The techniques used to create the perfect prehistoric hand silhouette
The world’s weirdest pigments
Our artistic ancestors were quite resourceful
Cave art across the world
The best examples of parietal paintings across the globe, from France to Australia
Influential Figures
Record-breaking ROYALS
Meet the richest, deadliest and longest-lived monarchs and find out who had the most wives, the most money and the most heirs
THE GENIUS OF DA VINCI
So much more than just a painter, the famous Renaissance polymath invented a plethora of marvellous machines
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Though not always successful, Brunel’s designs revolutionised transport, and he is now remembered as one of the greatest engineers of all time
Charles Darwin
The father of evolutionary biology, Darwin is the most famous naturalist of the Victorian era, if not all time
The Wright brothers
These siblings played a pivotal role in the evolution of powered flight and radically altered the path of aviation history
Albert Einstein
The foremost scientist of his age, Einstein is considered the most influential physicist of all time
Prehistoric
LAST DAYS OF THE DINOSAURS
How did an entire tribe of giant reptiles disappear from the face of the Earth?
Fossils
Discover life forms that lived millions or billions of years ago before being turned to stone
THE ICE AGE
Uncover the lost world and giant beasts of frozen Earth
Prehistoric monsters
Meet the enormous ancient predators that stalked the land, dominated the oceans and terrorised the skies
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