Penal treadmill

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A penal treadmill (penal treadwheel or everlasting staircase) was a treadwheel or treadmill with steps set into two cast iron wheels. These drove a shaft that could be used to mill corn, pump water, or connect to a large fan for resistance. Penal treadmills were used in prisons during the 19th century in Britain, India, and the United States. In early Victorian era Britain the treadmill was used as a method of exerting hard labour, a form of punishment prescribed in the prisoner's sentence.

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