How long do you remain conscious for after having your head chopped off? For centuries, people thought that a severed head might be aware of what’s going on for up to 30 seconds after decapitation – or even longer!
That folklore has its origins in the assassination of revolutionary leader/newspaper editor Jean-Paul Marat by Charlotte Corday, the French Revolution’s “Angel of Assassination”.
You might know that in the early days of the revolution, most of the people who faced the razor-sharp guillotine were from the aristocracy or were supporters of the monarchy.
But once the revolutionaries were victorious, years of terrifying infighting began, and thousands more heads would roll.
00:00 How long do you remain conscious for after getting your head chopped off?
00:25 Jean-Paul Marat welcomes a visitor to his bathtub
03:01 Hello my friend!
04:15 The French Revolution
09:25 Revolutionary infighting
10:44 Who is Jean-Paul Marat?
13:54 Charlotte Corday, the Angel of Assassination
15:36 The assassination
17:30 The execution
19:15 So, how long DO you remain conscious for after getting your head chopped off?
20:07 Aftermath
Host: Aslan Pahari
Producer: Hannah Jose
Audio Engineer: John Jacobs
Video Producer: Tejas Bhat
Special thanks: Michael Osmond for archives research
Executive Producers: Joel Werner, Eric George, Jessica Radburn
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