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Radio 3,2 mins

The dark history of the treadmill

Free Thinking

Available for over a year

If the treadmill is one of your go-to gym favourites, you may be surprised to learn that it has a disturbingly dark history. Vybarr Cregan-Reid, author of Footnotes: How Running Makes Us Human, explains why the Victorians saw the treadmill as the "perfect punishment" for hardened criminals. This clip comes from an episode of Free Thinking devoted to the art, rhythms and history of running.

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