Ranker Collection

Crime & Punishment

1.6m viewsBotched Execution Attempts That Went Horribly WrongCapital punishment: the age-old way for humans to dispose of one another for crimes perceived to be the most egregious in a partic...

603.1k viewsHow Firing Squads Have Worked Throughout HistoryAs soon as mankind learned to shoot, it figured out how to use that power to kill. The history of shooting squads is very long, th...

669.8k views14 Deliberately Evil Historical Punishments Designed To Be More Painful Than DeathThe most horrendous conditions in human life have been created by other humans. We maim, torture, and humiliate individuals to pen...

161.4k viewsThis Strange Trend In 17th & 18th Century Denmark Had People Committing Murder Just To Be ExecutedA woman slit the throat of her own baby. A soldier shot a sailor on the street in broad daylight. A mother killed three of her chi...

Capital Punishment

419.2k views10 Gruesome Execution Methods You Won't Believe Still Happen Around The WorldCapital punishment is a hot-button issue - especially in the United States. While well over half the states in the US still employ...

7.3k votersThe Most Epic Punishments Doled Out by Mythological GodsThese horrible punishments in mythology will make you thankful to live in a modern world, where there is a legitimate legal system...

70.1k viewsAll 41 Crimes Punishable by Death in the USThere are 41 crimes punishable by death in US federal law codes. Federal death penalty crimes almost always involve murder committ...

1.5m views12 Jaw-Droppingly Evil Torture Devices Used Throughout HistoryWARNING: DISTURBING DESCRIPTIONS BELOW Humans are incredibly creative when it comes to torture and humiliation, as surviving arti...

485.1k viewsA Day In The Life Of A Medieval Executioner In Their 16th-Century HeydayThe daily life of a medieval executioner was not easy. They did more than simply chop off heads and break prisoners on the wheel. ...

1.4m viewsThe Most Brutal Execution Methods Reportedly Used By Mexican CartelsThe Mexican Drug War - a sustained, violent conflict between powerful drug cartels and the Mexican government - has claimed an est...

540.3k viewsThe Most Controversial U.S. Death Penalty ExecutionsDeath row convicts can't rely on an eleventh-hour appeal, although some like Richard Glossip secured a fourth stay of execution in...

745.6k viewsGruesome Ways People Were Executed In The Time Of Henry VIIITo say that Henry VIII was fond of executing people is putting it lightly. There was a lopped head here, a hanging neck there, and...

2.3m viewsCreepy Things You Didn’t Know About Dying In The Electric ChairThe electric chair is no longer used as the primary method of execution in the United States. But at the time it was invented, it ...

588k viewsThe Brutal History Behind Tarring And FeatheringThroughout history, many societies have used tarring and feathering as both punishment and humiliation. The practice reaches as fa...

251.5k views6 Exceedingly Strange, WTF Torture Methods From HistoryIt’s a wonder the kinds of brutality man visits on those viewed as dangerous or different. Perhaps even more startling is the trem...

349.8k views15 Brutal Military Punishments throughout History to the Modern AgeThe militaries of the world are founded on principles of discipline, so it's no surprise military punishments in history have been...

49.2k viewsMurder Was So Common In 18th-Century Britain, Parliament Had To Get Creative With PunishmentsDuring the mid-18th century, murder was so rampant in Britain that Parliament needed to create an equally brutal law in response. ...

71.9k viewsCrazy Punishments, Rituals, and Violent Practices in Native American CultureScholars have spent plenty of time debating the rituals of Native Americans. Some tribes were peaceful, some were war-faring, and ...

132.8k views11 Ridiculous Crimes That Carried The Death Penalty Before Queen VictoriaWhen England was on the cusp of the Victorian era in the 1820s, there were more than 200 offenses that were punishable by death. T...

163.8k viewsWhat a Crucifixion Really Feels Like, from Broken Bones to Blood LossLet's face it, when it's time for you to expire, Mother Nature has plenty of awful ways to take you out of this world, most of whi...