The treadmill's dark and twisted past - Conor Heffernan

Mračna i uvrnuta prošlost trake za trčanje - Konor Hefernan (Conor Heffernan)

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Ivana Korom

The constant thud underneath your feet,

Stalno udaranje pod stopalima,

the constrained space,

ograničen prostor

and the monotony of going nowhere fast.

i monotonija toga da nigde ne idete brzo.

It feels like hours have gone by, but it's only been eleven minutes,

Imate osećaj da su prošli sati, ali prošlo je samo 11 minuta

and you wonder,

i pitate se:

"Why am I torturing myself?

"Zašto mučim sebe?

This thing has got to be considered a cruel and unusual punishment."

Mora da je ovo oblik okrutne i neobične kazne."

Actually, that's exactly what it is, or was.

Zapravo, baš to i jeste, ili je bilo.

You see, in the 1800s,

Vidite, 1800-ih godina,

treadmills were created to punish English prisoners.

trake za trčanje smišljene su da se kazne zatvorenici u Engleskoj.

At the time, the English prison system was abysmally bad.

U to vreme, engleski sistem zatvora bio je katastrofalno loš.

Execution and deportation were often the punishments of choice,

Najčešće kazne bile su egzekucija ili deportacija,

and those who were locked away faced hours of solitude in filthy cells.

a oni koji su bili zatvoreni, provodili su sate samoće u prljavim ćelijama.

So social movements led by religious groups, philanthropies,

Društvenim pokretima koje su vodilе verske grupe, filantropi

and celebrities, like Charles Dickens,

i poznate ličnosti poput Čarlsa Dikensa,

sought to change these dire conditions and help reform the prisoners.

pokušalo se s promenom ovih teških uslova i reformom zatvorenika.

When their movement succeeded,

Kada je pokret uspeo,

entire prisons were remodeled and new forms of rehabilitation,

celi zatvori su obnovljeni i uvedeni su novi oblici rehabilitacije,

such as the treadmill, were introduced.

poput trake za trčanje.

Here's how the original version,

Evo kako je funkcionisala prvobitna verzija,

invented in 1818 by English engineer Sir William Cubitt, worked.

koju je 1818. izmislio engleski inženjer, ser Vilijam Kjubit.

Prisoners stepped on 24 spokes of a large paddle wheel.

Zatvorenici su koračali na 24 stepenice velikog točka sa lopaticama.

As the wheel turned,

Kako se točak okretao,

the prisoner was forced to keep stepping up or risk falling off,

zatvorenik je bio primoran da nastavi da korača ili da padne,

similar to modern stepper machines.

slično modernim mašinama za hodanje.

Meanwhile, the rotation made gears pump out water,

U međuvremenu, od rotacije su zupčanici pumpali vodu,

crush grain,

mrvili zrnevlje

or power mills,

ili pokretali mlinove,

which is where the name "treadmill" originated.

odakle je nastao engleski naziv "treadmill".

These devices were seen as a fantastic way of whipping prisoners into shape,

Ove sprave su smatrane sjajnim načinom da se zatvorenici drže u formi

and that added benefit of powering mills

i dodatna prednost pokretanja mlinova

helped to rebuild a British economy decimated by the Napoleonic Wars.

pomogla je da se povrati britanska ekonomija

nakon Napoleonskih ratova.

It was a win for all concerned, except the prisoners.

To je bilo korisno za sve, osim za zatvorenike.

It's estimated that, on average,

Procenjuje se da su zatvorenici u proseku

prisoners spent six or so hours a day on treadmills,

provodili oko šest sati dnevno na traci za trčanje

the equivalent of climbing 5,000 to 14,000 feet.

što je jednako penjanju na visinu od 1500 do 4250 metara visine.

14,000 feet is roughly Mount Everest's halfway point.

4250 metara je oko pola visine Mont Everesta.

Imagine doing that five days a week with little food.

Zamislite da to radite pet puta nedeljno sa veoma malo hrane.

Cubitt's idea quickly spread across the British Empire and America.

Kjubitova ideja brzo se raširila po Britanskom carstvu i Americi.

Within a decade of its creation,

U deceniji od njenog nastanka,

over 50 English prisons boasted a treadmill,

preko 50 engleskih zatvora koristilo je traku za trčanje,

and America, a similar amount.

a u Americi je bio sličan broj.

Unsurprisingly, the exertion combined with poor nutrition

Ne čudi da su od napora u kombinaciji sa lošom ishranom

saw many prisoners suffer breakdowns and injuries,

mnogi zatvorenici patili od povreda i iscrpljenja,

not that prison guards seemed to care.

mada čuvare to nije naročito pogađalo.

In 1824, New York prison guard James Hardie credited the device

Čuvar zatvora u Njujorku, Džejms Hardi, 1824. je tvrdio da je ova naprava zaslužna

with taming his more boisterous inmates, writing that

za smirivanje revnosnijih zatvorenika, tvrdeći da je:

the "monotonous steadiness, and not its severity...constitutes its terror,"

"monotona čvrstina, a ne teškoća ono što je čini strašnom",

a quote many still agree with.

sa čime se mnogi još uvek slažu.

And treadmills lasted in England until the late 19th century,

Trake za trčanje postojale su u Engleskoj do kraja 19. veka,

when they were banned for being excessively cruel

kada su zabranjene zbog izrazite okrutnosti

under the Prison's Act of 1898.

Zatvorskim aktom iz 1898.

But of course the torture device returned with a vengeance,

Naravno, naprava za mučenje se vratila uz osvetu,

this time targeting the unsuspecting public.

ovog puta sa metom na bezazlenoj javnosti.

In 1911, a treadmill patent was registered in the U.S.,

Patent za traku za trčanje prijavljen je 1911. u SAD

and by 1952, the forerunner for today's modern treadmill had been created.

i do 1952. nastala je preteča moderne trake za trčanje.

When the jogging craze hit the U.S. in the 1970s,

Kada je pomama za džogingom nastala u SAD '70-ih godina,

the treadmill was thrust back into the limelight

traka za trčanje vratila se u centar pažnje

as an easy and convenient way to improve aerobic fitness,

kao lak i zgodan način da se unapredi fizička sposobnost

and lose unwanted pounds,

i izgube neželjeni kilogrami,

which, to be fair, it's pretty good at doing.

u čemu je, ruku na srce, prilično dobra.

And the machine has maintained its popularity since.

Naprava je od tada održala svoju popularnost.

So the next time you voluntarily subject yourself to what was once

Sledećeg puta kada svojevoljno sebe podvrgnete onome

a cruel and unusual punishment,

što je nekad bila okrutna i neobična kazna,

just be glad you can control when you'll hop off.

samo odahnite jer možete da utičete na to kada ćete sa nje sići.