Neatorama: This Won’t Hurt a Bit: A Painlessly Short (and Incomplete) Evolution of Execution.

As long as there have been criminals, there have been governments thinking up novel ways to execute ‘em. We don’t know which of the following gruesome methods the Founding Fathers had in mind with that whole ban on "cruel and unusual punishment," but we know they had plenty to choose from.

Method: Crushing by Elephant

Deadly Debut: India, 4,000 years ago. (It’s probably older, but recorded history doesn’t go back that far.)

[HNN: This article goes on to list a variety of methods of execution through the ageas, including pictures.]