The Treadmill: Designed to PunishFrom Victorian torture device to modern fitness staple

From the show

The Secret Life of Objects

Sir William Cubitt watched prisoners idling in 1818 and decided they needed corrective discipline. He invented the tread-wheel, an endless staircase that forced convicts to climb over 14,000 vertical feet daily. This grueling machine was originally engineered to break spirits, not burn calories.