It had ruled and held sway over judicial findings for nearly 3 centuries, had for many people become the last mortal thing the ever touched or knew. Its embrace was swift & final and denial of its want was never in question. Developed in 1791 by one Dr. Guilotin who proposed for the French Court to essentially do away with other methods of execution that were fast being deemed inhumane the " guillotine " was ushered into society as a much more efficient method of execution. It was simple as it was efficient. The person in question was strapped to a moveable bed then place horizontally into a brace that held the head in place exposing the neck to the blade. The weight and the way the angle of the blade was that as it traversed down the guides the angled blade would with speed slice through the neck just below the brain stem and the head would fall into a basket. There had been stories of head being lifted from the basket with eyes fluttering and lips moving, all part of the human nervous system still at work albeit briefly, yet for some a hideous sight all the same. Many countries adopted this method of execution and it was in the original country France who developed it to finally stop using the device in 1981. It now sits as a mute reminder of a method of execution that held mankind in its grisly yet fascination grip for over 300 years........thanks for the peek