Marathon Pundit: Word for today is keelhauling

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Word for today is keelhauling

With the news that one of the terrorists involved in the Benghazi murders, Ahmed Abu Khattala, is currently being held on a US Navy ship, let's take a look back at the old maritime punishment of keelhauling:

From Wikipedia:

Keelhauling (Dutch kielhalen;[1] "to drag along the keel"; German Kielholen; Swedish kölhalning; Danish kølhaling; Norwegian kjølhaling) is a form of punishment meted out to sailors at sea. The sailor was tied to a line that looped beneath the vessel, thrown overboard on one side of the ship, and dragged under the ship's keel, either from one side of the ship to the other, or the length of the ship (from bow to stern). As the hull was usually covered in barnacles and other marine growth, if the offender was pulled quickly, keelhauling would typically result in serious cuts, loss of limbs and even decapitation. If the victim was dragged slowly, his weight might lower him sufficiently to miss the barnacles, but this method would frequently result in his drowning.