Keelhauling

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Keelhauling (Dutch kielhalen; "to drag along the keel") is a form of punishment and potential execution once meted out to sailors at sea. A line was looped around the keel from one side of the ship to the other, with one end tied to the victim and the other end held by sailors. The victim was then thrown overboard; as sailors pulled from the other side, the victim was dragged, scraped, and mangled against the ship's keel, passing underneath the ship until pulled back up on deck.

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