James Johanson

ENG 2010
L. Lawrence
Water Torture
There are many different ways of torturing people. One of these areas of torture is called
water torture. This process been for over a thousand years. Types of this torture have been used
even in the medieval times. There are different methods of using water to torture people. Four of
these ways are: forced ingestion, fear of drowning, dripping water, and dunking. These are the
most common ways of using water to torture victims. All of these have been used in history at
one time or another, but at least three are still practiced in some places today. Many of these
ways go by different names which I will mention as we go into them further. I advise you not to
attempt to use or actually use on yourself or others as it may result in injury or death.

The first method I mentioned was called forced ingestion. This is exactly what it
sounds like; water is pumped in the victims mouth and he is
forced to drink it or drown. This method is more commonly
known as water cure and has been used by many different
countries. Theyve been used in the East-Indies, France,
Germany, Spain, Japan, and the United States on multiple
occasions. The victim is strapped down so he cant move.
His mouth is pried open and his nose is plugged. As they
pump the water down the victims throat, he is forced to
drink the water if he does not want to drown. This form of
torture can result in gastric distention, water intoxication,
and possibly death. Gastric distension actually occurs when too much air is pumped into the
stomach. The stomach bloats the stomach and can cause fluids from the stomach to reroute
through the gullet and into the lungs. Water
intoxication affects the brain as levels of
electrolytes become unbalanced due to overhydration. These cases are often found when
using water cure on victims.
The next form of water torture is
called fear of drowning. This method is
also referred to as waterboarding. A cloth is put on the victims mouth and nose while water is
poured on their face. This induces the sensation that you are drowning making the victims
struggle and gasp for air. The victim is obviously restrained during this process and may

sometimes break their own bones while trying to escape. The other results include: dry
drowning, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, lasting psychological
damage, and death. Dry drowning occurs when a person is unable to get oxygen from the air. In
this case, the water being poured on them makes it so they cannot breathe and thus result in dry
drowning because they are not underwater. Oxygen deprivation, or Asphyxiation, is a condition
of severely deficient supply of oxygen. This results in brain damage and has lasting
psychological damage on the victim. This form of torture has been used more commonly than
water cure and actually had to go through as U.S. classification as torture.
The next form of water torture is called dripping water. This method is more
commonly known as Chinese water torture and happens to be one of the most well known forms
of torture, most likely due to the unaggresive nature of the torture. The victim is strapped down
so that even the head is restrained. Drops of water are repeatedly dropped on an area of the body
(most commonly the forehead) allegedly driving the victim insane. This form of torture was
actually first discovered as a form of torture by Hippolytus de Marsiliis in 15th or 16th century
Italy. The term chinese water torture was first introduced
by Houdini when he did his act with the chinese water
torture cell (which has actually nothing to do with chinese
water torture) in Berlin. This form of torture can also be
used in different ways such as a small beep that
continues spontaneously for long amounts of time. This
type of torture results mostly in psychological issues but
is also known for making a deep imprint in the victims
forehead.

The final form of water torture is called dunking. I think most people would say this not
a form of torture at all, but much rather an execution. This method was used in the medieval
times and also during the Salem witch trials. The point of the torture was to dunk the victim in a
river. If they floated it meant they were a witch, if they didnt, then they drowned. Torture is
mostly used to get information, which is why dunking is so difficult to classify as a form of
torture. Technically, they are getting information when they find out whether they float or not.
However, on the other hand, this is not the sort of information people use torture to obtain. As
you can see, it strikes quite an argument among researchers. It
has been used in modern times to train military to hold their
breath. Although, this is more commonly used in countries other
than the United States. There was one man in Singapore who
died in combat training from dunking. Nowadays, this form of
torture really can be best seen as dunkings on face in a
container of water; but they used to strap someone to a chair
and lower them with a pulley into the water.
In conclusion, there are many different types of torture. Four of them are classified as
water torture: forced ingestion, fear of drowning, dripping water, and dunking. Forced ingestion,
involves forcing the victim to drink water as to not drown. Fear of drowning involves putting a
cloth on the victims face and pouring water on the cloth in large quantities. Dripping water (or
Chinese water torture) involves dropping water onto a victim's forehead continuously and
spontaneously. Dunking involves dropping the victim into a body of water while strapped to a
chair or by dunking the victims head underwater. All these different methods of water torture
have proved to be fatal. Participating in these forms of torture is sure to involve pain and
suffering. I advise you to never attempt to use any of these methods as they are harmful to you
and others. You may also want to stay out of any business that may lead to yourself being
tortured.