The treadmill's dark and twisted past - Conor Heffernan

翻译人员: Andy Yip 校对人员: Cissy Yun

The constant thud underneath your feet,

你脚底不停的摩擦声，

the constrained space,

受限的空间，

and the monotony of going nowhere fast.

还有哪都去不了的单调感。

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

你感觉时间正在飞速流逝， 但其实只过去了11分钟，

你不禁好奇，

and you wonder,

“我为什么要这样折磨自己？”

"Why am I torturing myself?

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

这难道不是残忍而不正常的惩罚么？

实际上，这就是它为何存在的原因！

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

You see, in the 1800s,

在18世纪，

treadmills were created to punish English prisoners.

跑步机是为了惩罚英国犯人而发明的。

在当时，英国的监狱制度极其糟糕。

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

Execution and deportation were often the punishments of choice,

死刑和驱逐出境是最常见的处罚，

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

而那些被禁锢在肮脏牢房里的 犯人面临着漫长的孤独。

So social movements led by religious groups, philanthropies,

所以那些由宗教团体，慈善家

and celebrities, like Charles Dickens,

和像查尔斯狄更斯这样的名人 发起了一场社会运动，

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

试图去改变这些悲惨的状况， 并帮助犯人从良。

When their movement succeeded,

当他们的运动成功时，

entire prisons were remodeled and new forms of rehabilitation,

整个监狱系统都被改造了， 而跑步机作为帮助犯人

such as the treadmill, were introduced.

重新提高生产力的新方式，也被引进。

Here's how the original version,

这是跑步机诞生的原始版本，

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

英国工程师William Cubitt在1818年发明了它。

Prisoners stepped on 24 spokes of a large paddle wheel.

犯人们踩着有着24条轮辐的巨大桨轮。

当轮子转动的时候，

As the wheel turned,

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

犯人们不得不加快步伐以免摔倒，

similar to modern stepper machines.

就像现代的步进机器。

Meanwhile, the rotation made gears pump out water,

同时，轮子的转动使机器能够抽水，

crush grain,

碾磨玉米，

or power mills,

或者发电，

which is where the name "treadmill" originated.

这就是”跑步机“名字的起源。

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

这些装置被当成是严格管教犯人的 一种绝妙方式，

and that added benefit of powering mills

同时又能为发电厂增加收益，

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

帮助重建被拿破仑战争摧毁的英国经济。

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

这是全方位的胜利，除了对犯人们来说不是。

It's estimated that, on average,

据估计，

犯人们每天平均花费大约6小时在跑步机上，

prisoners spent six or so hours a day on treadmills,

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

等于走了1524到4267米。

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

这距离相当于到珠穆朗玛峰的半山腰。

Imagine doing that five days a week with little food.

想象一下，一周五天这样的 高强度运动而仅有少量食物。

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

Cubit的想法很快传遍大英帝国和美国。

Within a decade of its creation,

在十年之内，

over 50 English prisons boasted a treadmill,

英国约有50个监狱设置了跑步机，

and America, a similar amount.

在美国，差不多也是这个数字。

Unsurprisingly, the exertion combined with poor nutrition

不出意料，这种缺乏营养支持的苦力劳作

saw many prisoners suffer breakdowns and injuries,

使很多犯人体力不支和受伤，

not that prison guards seemed to care.

而监狱看守对此并不关心。

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

在1824年，纽约一名叫 James Hardie的监狱看守

with taming his more boisterous inmates, writing that

赞扬这些装置驯服了他粗暴狂躁的犯人，

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

他写道：“是始终如一的单调乏味， 而不是多艰苦的劳作......使人觉得恐怖，”

a quote many still agree with.

这句话依然为不少人赞同。

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

而跑步机继续在英国被应用直到19世纪，

when they were banned for being excessively cruel

因其导致的影响太过恶劣，

under the Prison's Act of 1898.

在1898年颁布的《监狱法》中被禁止。

But of course the torture device returned with a vengeance,

但当然，这折磨人的装置最终强势回归了，

this time targeting the unsuspecting public.

这一次，它的主要目标是普通民众。

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

在1911年， 跑步机在美国注册了发明专利，

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

到1952年, 现代跑步机的雏形已经出现。

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

当1970年，慢跑热席卷美国，

the treadmill was thrust back into the limelight

跑步机又成为人们关注的焦点，

as an easy and convenient way to improve aerobic fitness,

作为一种简单方便的有氧健身法，

and lose unwanted pounds,

也能减掉多余的脂肪，

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

坦白讲，效果非常好。

And the machine has maintained its popularity since.

跑步机至今仍然大受欢迎。

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

所以下一次你自愿臣服于这样一台曾被用来

a cruel and unusual punishment,

残忍的惩罚犯人的跑步机时，

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

应该感到庆幸能决定什么时候离开。