To add to that thought: Before THAT person died, someone ELSE had died in the previously most painful way possible, and at some point in the future someone else will probably find an even MORE painful way to die that we can't even imagine.
That's assuming all the pain happens within a given span of time. As long as we can keep lengthening human lifespans, the length of a painful death can keep stretching out.
To be clear, I'm not happy about this thought, I've just thought about the worst ways to die a lot more than is healthy.
The closest would be the Soyuz 11 disaster. A seal on the re-entry vehicle was damaged when the capsule detached prior to re-entry. Terrible way to go I imagine.
Presumably there could have been a point where someone drifted gently off to wherever it is we all go, comfortable and surrounded by loved ones, and in their naivety everyone present thought "oh how awful".
I've been on the Internet for a while now and I can safely assure you that the those even more painful ways of dying may not have happened yet, but someone certainly thought then up already.
Fortunately, when pain gets too extreme, it flips a breaker of sorts in your brain and you stop feeling it so much. Happens during really catastrophic trauma, presumably to keep the pain from distracting you too much from your (at that point probably necessary) fight or flight reactions.
Adrenaline is part of it, but I don't think it's solely responsible, as its not always present in accounts. Sometimes people can be very calm.
That's why psychological torture is preferred by a lot of "advanced interrogators".
Keep someone locked in the same uncomfortable position for days while you're blasting aggressive disorienting sounds and randomly flashing blinding lights in a room with mirrors.
Once in a while, take them and do a few hours of water boarding. Make sure they're constantly sleep deprived and can never get more than a few minutes of sleep.
Then when you do want to inflict physical pain, focus on the feet very slowly. Feet is one of the most sensitive areas. Slowly start peeling the skin or stick nails through the toes, or practice some electroshock therapy.
Honestly torture is terrifying. I recently read a long form article about it. Worst part is, our "civilized" governments still do this with some amount of regularity. Would be more civilized to put a bullet in the head.
Then think about near future where we can read thoughts (like 1984 where the "advanced interrogator" reads the protagonists mind to figure out what his greatest fear is) or even worse implant thoughts. They could implant images of you murdering your family or something. There's a lot of potential for some horrifying stuff.
That's why in some science fiction, see Warhammer 40K, they have technology that let you keep on feeling that pain long after you should be well and thoroughly dead. Honestly I'm not sure who's better at it, the Imperium or the Dark Eldar.
Calm is just a shock response to stop you from spurting out all your blood. It's the exact opposite of an adrenal reaction
That's also different than your brain dumping a bunch of neurotransmitters as you're dying. There's no advantage to that, it's just what happens as your brain dies.
Sure, makes sense. My postulation is that adrenaline is not the sole cause of decreased pain sensation during severe trauma, despite often getting the credit. Is that likely accurate in your estimation?
"The brazen bull ... was an alleged torture and execution device designed in ancient Greece. ... The bull was said to be hollow and made entirely out of bronze with a door in one side. According to legends, the brazen bull was designed in the form and size of an actual bull and had an acoustic apparatus that converted screams into the sound of a bull. The condemned were locked inside the device, and a fire was set under it, heating the metal until the person inside was roasted to death.
"Stories allege after finishing construction on the execution device, Perilaus said to Phalaris: "His screams will come to you through the pipes as the tenderest, most pathetic, most melodious of bellowings." Perilaus believed he would receive a reward for his invention. Instead, Phalaris, who was disgusted by these words, ordered its horn sound system to be tested by Perilaus himself, tricking him into getting in the bull. When Perilaus entered, he was immediately locked in and the fire was set, so that Phalaris could hear the sound of his screams. Before Perilaus could die, Phalaris opened the door and took him away. After freeing him from the bull, Phalaris is then said to have taken Perilaus to the top of a hill and thrown him off, killing him. Phalaris himself is claimed to have been killed in the brazen bull when he was overthrown by Telemachus, the ancestor of Theron."
"The brazen bull … was an alleged torture and execution device designed in ancient Greece
There's zero evidence that was ever used tho...
A lot of the "terrible tortures of the past" are bullshit because the people that came next wanted to look civilized compared to the past.
I think for this one, someone found a bronze bull that could fit a person inside and some pipes. It's way more likely the person in there just played the pipes like horns
I'd have to agree with this one, and the most painful example of this that I can think of is Hisashi Ouchi, otherwise known as the most irradiated man in history.
I would imagine some of the worst are rare conditions that take you from the inside out. I can’t find reference to the name of the disease, but I swear I remember seeing a bone condition that caused spiky growths, almost like crystals, to form from your bones.
It would be slow and excruciating and you would beg for death long before it ever came.
I don't know. I think we need controlled studies to find out what the actual most painful way possible to die is. How many rapists and murderers do we have? I'm sure we can spare some of those for testing purposes.
Personally, my money is on someone being slowly fed into a wood chipper while on fire and drinking battery acid.
Well, they probably didn't do it very scientifically but if they could think of it and the tools existed, someone in history is likely to have tried it as a method for killing people.
Impaled people, for instance, could allegedly take days to die. Being slowly eaten by ants or rats sounds pretty painful too
There's one called "life" that is pretty cruel too. It might take anywhere from seconds to more than a hundred years for it to eventually kill you and some.people get to experience a lot of pain throughout the experience.
Dude I've had depression since I was in first grade, so you're preaching to the choir on that last one. But no I was speaking of scientific method here.