- [Narrator] Sometimes
the course of justice takes some unusual forms. It makes sense, after all, not every slightly unpleasant
deed deserves to be met with a harsh sentence or a hefty fine. In some cases, something
a little more creative is much more effective at teaching someone a lesson
about right and wrong. So, with a hilarious mixture ranging from court-ordered
chicken costumes, to the funniest solution to a
disagreement you'll ever see, let's check out some "Weird Punishments
Handed Out Instead of Prison." (lively upbeat music) "Taste of Your Own Tenement."
(light quirky music) An unpleasant landlord is
never fun to deal with, but it's even worse when
they flat-out refuse to carry out essential
clean ups and repairs that are entirely their responsibility. But that's exactly the kind of landlord the tenants of some
terribly dilapidated houses in Cleveland, Ohio, were
dealing with in 2008. Thankfully, though, they saw him get his comeuppance that year in a delightfully suitable
manner, after he was charged with several building code
violations on his properties. On assessing the shoddy
conditions of the homes, which the landlord had refused to repair whenever his tenants asked him to, the judge decided an unconventional
punishment was in order. On top of a $100,000 fine,
the judge ordered the landlord to move into one of his rundown properties for no less than six months, as a taster of what his
tenants had to put up with. Under house-arrest, he'd
be monitored 24/7 to ensure that beside certain special family events, the only time he'd leave the lousy house would be to fix up his other properties. What's more, he was ordered to only spend the income from his tenants on repairs and clean ups, as well as being prohibited
from buying more properties without the court's permission. Needless to say, after the forcibly
uncomfortable six months, the landlord would certainly be a little more attentive to
the needs of his tenants. After all, there's no better way to learn what it's like living rough, than to do it in a
shoddy property you own. Now, as satisfying as a suitable punishment like that can be, rewarding good behaviors
is just as satisfying. And you can reward your
own excellent choice of watching this video
by giving it like a like, and subscribing to "Be
Amazed" for much, much more. With daily content ranging
from ultra-satisfying to downright fascinating, the
potential rewards are endless. But with that said, let's check out some more
hilariously unusual punishments. (air whooshing)
"Paddling Punishment." When flood conditions
caused the Grand River in northern Ohio to overflow in 2011, police officials were sent
in to patrol its banks to ensure no one was in danger. When one ranger spotted
a young man and woman in their early twenties rafting for fun on the treacherous waters,
without any life jackets, he could barely believe his eyes. Unfortunately, they sailed out of sight before the official could
reach them, and as a result, local emergency services spent hours trying to locate the pair downstream. A Coast Guard helicopter was
even called to find the couple, who were assumed to be in grave danger. When the reckless pair
were eventually spotted back on solid ground, they
denied they'd been on the water, which, of course, was a lie. Fast forward a month or so, and the couple appeared in
court for their reckless act, where a judge laid down an
unconventional punishment in lieu of jail time or a fine. For triggering a
time-and-resource-wasting rescue effort, and lying to officials, the pair were given a
suitably aquatic punishment. They were ordered to spend a
day standing in a kiddie pool at a day-festival in their local town, handing out water safety leaflets while wearing life jackets. It may have been safer
than the water activities the couple were used to, but it was considerably
more embarrassing, too. (air whooshing) "Flute of Shame."
(light quirky music continues) In Medieval Europe, it wasn't just criminals who
were punished for wrongdoings. Merely annoying your fellow citizens was sometimes enough to earn you an unpleasant serving of
personally-customized justice. One such punishment involved being forced to walk around town wearing something known
as the Flute of Shame, which was used to publicly
humiliate terrible musicians. I'm not kidding. This heavy iron flute, which
had no musical function, was worn around the neck of
people whose musicianship or general showmanship
brought nothing but irritation to the public who'd experienced it. With their fingers shackled to the device, the shamed wearer would
be taunted by the public, who occasionally even
threw rotten vegetables. It was a sure-fire method of making sure the wearer didn't perform publicly again before training a little harder. (sighs) And I thought internet commenters were harsh critics. (air whooshing)
"Jeweler At The Colosseum." This next tale of peculiar punishment takes us all the way back to
the height of the Roman Empire, during the reign of Emperor
Gallienus in the 3rd century AD. In this period, a popular pastime in Rome was taking a trip down to the Colosseum to see the empire's greatest
gladiators duking it out against men and animals alike. But not everyone was sent out to fight in the arena by choice. For instance, one jeweler, who'd been found guilty of
fraudulently selling glass jewels to the emperor's wife, instead
of authentic gemstones, was ordered into the arena as punishment. He was told beforehand that
he'd be fighting a lion, and was understandably terrified as he was walking out into a
roaring crowd of thousands. However, when the large
animal cage awaiting him was finally opened, instead of
a lion, a chicken walked out! The crowd erupted in laughter,
(audience laughing) and the emperor had an assistant
proclaim that the jeweler "Practiced deceit and then
had it practiced on him." In an act of semi-kindness, the jeweler was allowed to return home, as the fright of
expecting to meet his doom was surely punishment enough. (air whooshing)
"Drunkard's Cloak." Jumping forward in time now, I introduce you to the drunkard's cloak, used in Britain, as well as
parts of Europe and the USA, between the 17th and 19th century. Coming into popularity
after the passing of laws making public drunkenness
a civil offense in England, this strange punishment consisted of wearing a hollowed-out
barrel with neck and leg holes. Someone guilty of public drunkenness would be ordered to walk
through the street for hours wearing the ridiculous outfit as a marker for their bad behavior. As if walking while drunk
wasn't hard enough already! As drunkenness didn't
warrant a particularly harsh or long-term punishment, it was hoped that the
embarrassment of the act would be enough to encourage drunkards to only drink inside their own homes. And, if you think about it, it was probably pretty effective, too. After all, if anyone tripped over while wearing a drunkard's cloak, and barrel-rolled themselves down a hill into a body of water,
(water splashing) you can bet they wouldn't want a repeat. (light quirky music continues)
(air whooshing) "Graffiti Artist's Paint Job." Back to a more familiar time period now, we have the story of an
amateur graffiti artist from Painesville, Ohio, who
got caught in the act in 2019. After being found responsible
for some subpar graffiti left on a railroad car, the young man found himself in court, at the mercy of Judge Michael Cicconetti. Luckily for the young fellow, Cicconetti has something of a reputation for giving first time
offenders on minor charges the choice of a creative
punishment fitting their crime, rather than a jail sentence. In this case, Cicconetti noted the young man's otherwise clean record, and offered him an unusual
way to pay back for his crime, that also gave him a chance to
work on his painting skills. Painting the rusty old railings
outside the courthouse. But what would've been a short, quick job with a standard paint brush, was made considerably
trickier by one little catch. The young offender would
have to paint the railings using nothing but a toothbrush. While this task was
certainly a grueling one, the young man later stated he was much happier to be doing that than serving a jail sentence. So what leads Judge Michael Cicconetti to give out these unusual
types of punishments? Well, it's more than just
a good sense of humor. Avoiding passing a sentence
for something minor like a graffiti charge, not
only means one less person in America's already
overcrowded prison system, it also means people's lives aren't ruined by a single, small mistake. In exchange for a little
bit of public humiliation, people with first-time
misdemeanors, get a second chance. And as any self-conscious
high-schooler knows, a little bit of public embarrassment isn't something you forget in a hurry. (air whooshing) "Get A Job!"
(light quirky music continues) The thought of inadvertently
raising a spoiled child is something that sends
shivers down the spine of parents everywhere. But one Spanish family's 25-year-old son took bratty entitlement to
never before seen heights in 2011, when he took his parents to court after they cut his pocket money. The man had a law degree, but despite his parents'
repeated requests, refused to get a job. Instead, he preferred to
sponge off his parents, and when they refused to meet his demands for an increased allowance,
he took them to court. Clearly, though, the 25-year-old hadn't studied law quite hard enough, because the judge overseeing the case ruled heavily in his parents' favor. While the 25-year-old had
launched the case hoping to secure a regular monthly payment of
400 Euros from his parents, the judge instead ordered him to "Leave home and get a job." Under the ruling, he was obliged to leave his parents'
house within 30 days. While his parents did agree to pay their son 200 Euros a month for the following two years to help him achieve independence,
it was hardly the outcome the obnoxious young fellow had expected. But if you're going to push the limits of your parents' generosity that much, don't be surprised when
it runs out entirely. (air whooshing)
"Stinking Justice." Sometimes, avoiding
the long arm of the law is as simple as making sure
you do your job correctly. Unfortunately, though, not
everyone is capable of that, but this is nothing new. People have been terrible
at their occupations since jobs were invented,
and historically, these failings have been met with a range of
socially-enforced comeuppances. Some of the funniest and most fitting of these punishments for
incompetence come from England, between the medieval period
and the 17th century. For starters, during
the reign of Henry VIII, any public toilet cleaner found guilty of dumping
filth in the open streets ran the risk of a disgustingly
appropriate punishment. They'd be forced to stand knee-deep in a barrel of their,
oh, God, collected waste, while wearing a paper hat
declaring their wrongdoing. Similarly, fishmongers and butchers caught selling rotten products often found themselves in the stocks, with their pungent expired products secured beneath their noses.
(flies buzzing) With the horrific stench
these rotten meats generated, alongside the abuse levied by passers-by, it would hopefully ensure
their inferior wares were not a regular occurrence. Similarly humiliating punishments
were handed out to people found guilty of cheating
at card gambling games. An occasional punishment
for swindlers of this kind saw the guilty individual forced to sit facing backwards on a horse with their clothes
covered in playing cards to highlight their particular
wrongdoing offense. Onlookers would, of course,
gawk at the strange sight and ridicule the backwards-riding fool. A little earlier, in the medieval period, innkeepers found selling
poor quality or putrid wine were occasionally tied to a
stake in public locations. While there, a group of
musicians would gather round, stirring up attention
and luring in a crowd. Once the crowd had gathered, any bottles of alcohol found to be spoiled would be poured over the
guilty innkeeper's head before they were allowed to walk home in foul-smelling shame. Sure, it may sound like a
standard Friday night at college, but in the medieval times, this kind of public humiliation
wasn't taken so lightly. As you can imagine, it wasn't exactly easy
getting your customers back after everyone in town saw
you being unwilling bathed in your own inferior goods. (light quirky music continues)
(air whooshing) "Hog Roasted." In 2002, an Ohio man got into a verbal confrontation
with a police officer that culminated with
him calling the officer the age-old, police-related insult, pig. The officer in question wasn't so pleased about this cold serving of bacon, and arrested the man on
a misdemeanor charge. When the court date arrived, the man's case was handled
by Judge Michael Cicconetti. As you may recall from earlier, Cicconetti is somewhat famous
for his creative sentencing, and this case was no different. As the charge wasn't all that serious, Cicconetti ordered the man to
pay his dues in a humorous, yet undoubtedly demeaning manner. He was tasked to stand in the Town Square of Painesville, Ohio,
with a makeshift pigpen, right next to a 350-pound pig. In sight of a much-amused public, the message became very clear to both the guilty
fellow and the onlookers that a real pig is very
different to a police officer. A brief inhalation of the
pig's rather pungent odor made that fact abundantly clear. Well, that and the sign
the man was holding, which indicated the pig, and read "This is not a police officer." (air whooshing)
"Terribly Ticklish." When the leaders and
generals of Ancient Rome needed information from an enemy, uncomfortable imprisonment was
far from the only method used to squeeze the info out. There were many methods
too horrible to list on an advertiser-friendly YouTube video, but one method was a little less brutal, albeit still very uncomfortable. The method I'm talking about involved dipping a target's
feet in salt water, and having a goat come and lick it off. This process would be insanely ticklish, and for those with particularly
sensitive feet, unbearable. Anyone who's ever been
tickled against their will can vouch for how horrible
this would've felt. I, for one, would've cracked in seconds. That said, it was probably
a pretty great way of removing dead, dry skin from your feet. Only problem is, depending on how long
the goat was licking for, it'd probably end up removing
some of the non-dry skin too. Ouch.
(light quirky music continues) (air whooshing)
"Compulsory 'Bambi.'" When a Missouri man was found guilty of illegal deer hunting in
a protected area in 2018, the judge handling his case decided a year-long jail sentence
wasn't quite enough. This was because, with no respect for the ecosystem of the forest, the man had remorselessly hunted a large number of those deer
purely for their antlers, wastefully throwing the meat away. With this fact considered,
the judge figured out a way to give him a little more
empathy for the creatures, forcing him to watch the
Disney classic "Bambi" at least once a month for
the duration of his sentence. After so many hours
spent watching the film, which is equal parts
heart-warming and heart-breaking, hopefully, this hunter
learned to appreciate the impact of taking a
deer's life a little more. Or, even if not, at the very least, he'd suffer some serious boredom from watching the same
film over and over again. (air whooshing)
"Double Shrew's Fiddle." During the medieval period
in Germany and Austria, a unique type of punishment
emerged, specifically aimed at dealing with people
who argued in public. This punishment involved
locking the feuding individuals face-to-face with a wooden yoke, secured around their necks and hands. The contraption, known as a double fiddle, was designed to force the adversaries to let all their verbal anger out and resolve their disagreement. Until their argument was resolved,
they wouldn't be let out, and would have to walk around
attached to one another until it was. Of course, this punishment was reserved for non-physical conflicts, as the foes would still have easily been within kicking and spitting range. Regardless, the double fiddle was an effective tool for its purpose, and was adapted from a similar idea, known simply as the shrew's fiddle. This was a one-person alternative which was used to punish
people who voiced angry or provocative opinions in public, usually those who criticized
the ruling powers. It was pretty humiliating, but
which do you think was worse, the lonely embarrassment
of the shrew's fiddle, or having to see your
enemy's face constantly in the double fiddle? Let me know in the comments below. (touch pad clicking)
(air whooshing) "Ducking Stool."
(light quirky music continues) Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, from Europe to the
early American colonies, an unusual practice existed that appeared a little like
a modern-day fairground ride. But I assure you, it
wasn't particularly fun for those who experienced it. This punishment was known
as the ducking stool, and was used on dishonest
tradesmen, disorderly women, and people deemed guilty of being scolds. The word scold, in this
case, meant troublesome, angry people who insulted
others behind their back and regularly caused public
arguments with their neighbors without any good reason. For misdeeds like this,
the guilty individual would be fastened to a chair
on a pole with a pulley system, with which they'd be repeatedly
ducked into a pond or river. While this wasn't usually intended to permanently harm the individual, the water could be very cold, and the whole spectacle
was highly embarrassing. The practice was surprisingly
common in this period, to the extent that poems like
this one were even written warning unruly people of the practice. "If noisy dames should once begin to drive the house with horrid din, 'Away,' you cry, 'you'll grace the stool, we'll teach you how your tongue to rule.'" With ominous rhymes like
that associated with it, if I'd lived during the time, I'd avoid riding the
ducking stool at all costs. Wouldn't you?
(air whooshing) "Costume Parties."
(light quirky music continues) An outfit can say a lot about a person, and nobody knew this better than those distributing
punishments in the Middle Ages. Indeed, in this period, wearable
items were regularly used to punish a range of behaviors
considered taboo at the time. For starters, people who did things that were considered
offensive or indecent, were occasionally made to repent by dressing in nothing but a white sheet and loudly begging for forgiveness, in front of their friends and family, outside the local church. This was seen as an act of
repentance through embarrassment, and once the local
clergymen were satisfied, or, perhaps, had finished
laughing their butts off, the shamed person was forgiven. Another medieval way to shame wrongdoers was to parade them through the streets in embarrassing metal masks that were often designed
to reflect their offenses. For example, someone found to
be gossiping or spreading lies may have been forced to
wear masks like these, with long tongues and big ears. Someone found guilty of being shamefully greedy at
others' expense, meanwhile, might have dressed up in a pig mask. Women were particularly common targets of this enforced mask wearing, and sometimes had to wear
an even less dignified type, known as a scold's bridle. This was a metal mask
that acted like a muzzle, designed to stop women
who'd been caught gossiping or arguing in the streets, from talking. To really send the lesson home, the wearer would typically
be led around the town by a male escort using a leash
tied to the scold's bridle. Sometimes, there would
even be a bell attached to draw more attention to
the utterly humiliating act. With the sheer embarrassment any of these costume-related
public shamings incurred, I'm sure those experiencing them would quickly learn their lesson. After all, being seen in masks
like these more than once was probably not on anyone's bucket list. (air whooshing)
"Fowl Play." While forcing people to dress up in ridiculous costumes as punishment may seem like a thing of the past, one conviction in 2007 proved
that's not entirely the case. The unbelievably wacky scenario coming up is another spectacular tale from the archives of Ohio
Judge Michael Cicconetti, and the costume in
question is a chicken suit. Or, more specifically,
three chicken suits. After three men were caught attempting to solicit something indecent from an undercover police
officer in Painesville, Ohio, they found themselves
facing Cicconetti's hammer. In his typical fashion,
Ohio's favorite judge gave the men two options. Thirty days in jail, or an
afternoon spent standing in the middle of town in chicken costumes. The men opted for the chicken suits, and were ordered to carry
out their unusual punishment while carrying signs that said, "No chicken ranch in Painesville." The signs referred to the
slang usage of chicken ranch as a place where the types
of indecent encounters the men had been seeking
were usually found. Those types of places had
no home in Painesville, but humorous punishments for
minor crimes certainly did, all thanks to Michael Cicconetti. (air whooshing)
"What A Drag." In 2001, two young men
from Coshocton, Ohio, were involved in a misdemeanor that left them facing
a 60-day jail sentence. However, the judge on their
case, David Hostetler, was concerned about overcrowding
at the local county jail, and decided something a little different might be more suitable. Perhaps inspired by fellow
Ohio judge Mike Cicconetti, Judge Hostetler came up with
the idea to subject the men to something that might knock
their egos down a peg or two. Considering they'd been arrested
for trying to be all macho by throwing glass bottles
at private property, the judge decided the best way to remedy this ill-informed
attempt at masculinity was with something excessively feminine. Specifically, he ordered the men to walk around downtown
Coshocton for an hour wearing dresses, long wigs, and makeup. With the options of
lip gloss or jail time, it was an obvious choice, though by no means a
particularly joyful one. Nonetheless, the men
carried out their duty, and after some serious heckling in their short time dressed as women, it's fair to say their lesson
was well and truly learnt. Whether or not either
of them secretly thought they looked great in
lipstick was never revealed. But the mocking laughter of the townsfolk, many of whom had turned out specifically to watch the punishment carried out, probably turned them off
the idea for a while. (lively upbeat music) What's the weirdest punishment you've ever heard of being
handed out instead of prison? Let me know in the comment section below. And as always, thanks for watching!
