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The use of impalement in myth, art, and literature includes mythical representations of it as a method of execution and other uses in paintings, sculptures, and the like, folklore and other tales in which impalement is related to magical or supernatural properties, and the use of simulated impalement for the purposes of entertainment.
It was particularly used in response to "crimes against the state" and is regarded across a number of cultures as a very harsh form of capital punishment and recorded in myth and art. Impalement was also used during times of war to suppress rebellions, punish traitors or collaborators, and punish breaches of military discipline.
The impalement arts have been featured in movies, television, literature and art. These representations, rather than real acts, will have provided many people with the main basis of their ideas about the impalement arts. Impalement acts have proved to be useful plot devices and have provided iconic images.
The Wheel of Death, in the context of the impalement arts, is a classic moving target stunt sometimes performed by knife throwers.The thrower's assistant or target girl is secured, (usually by the limbs and tied by rope), to a large, generally circular, target board that is free to spin about its center point.
Oliver Cromwell's head was placed on a spike and erected in the 17th century. A drawing from the late 18th century. A head on a spike (also described as a head on a pike, a head on a stake, or a head on a spear) is a severed head that has been vertically impaled for display.
Here was a college kid two years removed from being impaled by a javelin sulking after making the U.S. Olympic team. When they spoke a few minutes later, Godwin had not yet cooled down.
In circus and vaudeville acts, a target girl is a female assistant in "impalement" acts such as knife throwing, archery or sharpshooting. The assistant stands in front of a target board or is strapped to a moving board and the impalement artist throws knives or shoots projectiles so as to hit the board and miss the assistant.
A freak accident off the coast of Indonesia has claimed the life of 36-year-old Italian surfer Giulia Manfrini, who was tragically impaled by a swordfish. The Bali-based surfing instructor was ...