Question of the Day #170 · September 9, 2026
Which common piece of exercise equipment was originally designed in 1818 as a form of hard labor for prisoners in English jails?
Show answer
The treadmill
The original prison treadmill forced inmates to keep stepping on paddles around a large rotating wheel for hours at a time. The mechanism could power mills or pumps, but its exhausting repetition also made it an instrument of punishment.