The Treadmill Was Invented for Prisons

Happy New Year! I hope this title didn’t upset you. I’m not out to discourage new gym memberships. I just wanted to explain why we feel like we’re being punished when we run in place. It’s because treadmills are literally torture devices designed for convicts:

The penal treadmill (or everlasting staircase) used steps set into cast iron wheels to drive a …