Cerletti’s original electroshock machine adapted from a slaughterhouse pig-shocker. Photo by Francesca.pallone
In a PETA release, a USDA inspector recently witnessed meat plant workers electroshocking a pig multiple times as it shrieked and struggled hanging from a chain. And for those who quibble that shocking pigs has nothing to do with electroshocking human beings? Inventor Ugo Cerletti got the idea for electroshocking humans from watching pigs being electroshocked to make them docile before their throats were cut. And cannibals once called human entrees “long pig” because they taste alike. But I digress.
Norway has evidently been shocking people for their own good, but without their consent, and Pennsylvania is trying to ban the use of electroshock on children a move perhaps sparked by the FDA’s decision to reduce the threat level of bolts of juice through the brain so that everybody can now enjoy it.
Utah is using a device to shoot electricity into the ears of prisoners to stop opioid cravings, and finally just for a change of pace, in the UK, mental patients are being taught magic tricks to boost self-esteem. Perhaps they can use it to better hide the antidepressants they are supposed to be swallowing.
