Guillotines

Believe it or not, the creator of the guillotine, Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, originally created the device as a more humane method of execution. Obviously, it didn’t end up that way and after the Reign of Terror, Gullotin himself tried to distance himself from the device. Even later, his family petitioned to have the name changed but were denied. 

Guillotine executions were very popular events in which people would gather to watch. They became so popular that even the operators became national celebrities.