MADAME

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While there were many symbols associated with the French Revolution, none were as famous as the guillotine. Although the device looks cruel, the guillotine was far more efficient and pain free than beheading with an axe. Here are a few interesting facts you may not know about the famous “Madame Guillotine.”

The last official use of the guillotine was less than 50 years ago.

Executions by guillotine were big events, drawing large crowds as people watched “enemies of the Revolution” meet their doom.

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The guillotine was used by the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s.

Mini guillotines were popular kids toys used to behead dolls, rodents, and vegetables for fun. Some fancy aristocrats even used these toys to cut their bread at the dinner table.

On average, the posts of the guillotine were 14 feet high.

The guillotine claimed the lives of thousands of people, including Marie Antoinette, King Louis XVI, and Maximilien Robespierre.