The Cellar - Jan 7th, 2016: Garrotting Panic

After London formed the Metropolitan Police Force in 1839, a lot of people who had never thought about street crime, were now worried. After all, they wouldn’t have formed the Police if it wasn’t a problem. Rarely somebody would be garroted with a wire, belt, scarf, or somebody’s arm, but the public reacted more to this so the papers played it for all it was worth. In 1862 a Member of Parliament got garroted for his watch, and the papers went crazy, as did the public, resulting in a new law that stipulated 50 lashes in addition to prison time.

http://cellar.org/2015/garrotting1.jpg

People who had to travel at night hired body guards, traveled in groups, and bought all sorts of defensive devices the entrepreneurs invented and sold. From metal/leather collars to cartoonish spiked collars that would probably be a bigger danger to the wearer, than garrotters. My favorite is Ball’s Patent Anti-Garrotter Belt Pistol.

http://cellar.org/2015/garrotting2.jpg

Quote:

.36 cal. percussion, 1 1/4" barrel with a very good bore. This is an extremely interesting and extremely rare piece of firearms curiosa, patented February 8, 1858 by Henry Ball of Birmingham. In crime-ridden Victorian London garrotting was merely one of the neat ways one could be robbed or murdered. Stiff leather and even metal-reinforced collar devices were invented to preclude the garrotter from making you his next victim; Mr. Ball's device was one of those ingenious inventions. Basically a percussion pistol mounted to a flat piece of metal, worn in the small of the back and carried with the hammer on a half-cock notch. When entering a dangerous situation or when one felt threatened, the wearer would reach behind his back with his left hand and fully cock the hammer. If indeed attacked by a garrotter there was a pull cord with a turned knob fastened at the waistline which would trigger the device, sending a .36 caliber lead ball into the offending garrotter's midsection thereby dissuading him from pursuing any further strangulation or decapitating action.

Might need a chiropractor after that goes off in the small of your back.

link and link