You and my late father would have gotten along. His theory was that the death penalty should involve hanging people and re-using the same rope to keep it cheap. When it finally breaks, commute that individual's sentence and get a new rope to continue on with the next person.
There's an episode of "Murdoch's Mysteries" about the process of hanging a man. The rope was consistently reused, it was nearly as thick as your wrist. Too short and the man would strangle, too long and he would be decapitated.
We have forgotten tons -- like how the Romans made ice in the desert, Greek fire and how to bend mother of pearl to clad statues -- yet imagine ourselves superior in every way.
