[Jamestown1630]

'Respect My Authoritah!'

I've never understood exactly what was involved in 'tarring and feathering'. (Please don't be too graphic...)

[CheshireTheCat]

It’s basically just what it sounds.

Nowadays there’s probably a lot of different things that can be used on people that are relatively harmless but would require hours of scrubbing in a shower to get off.

[hanamizu]

I’ve never understood exactly what was involved in ‘tarring and feathering’. (Please don’t be too graphic...)

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It could kill. Strip, or partially strip the victim, pour warm/hot tar all over him and then coat with feathers. If the tar is very hot, it will of course cause burns and the feathers, being less than sanitary might well cause fatal infection. Cleaning the tar before kerosene is going to take some time.

Assuming it’s not fatal, it was, and intended to be the ultimate humiliation.

[Fiji Hill]

I've never understood exactly what was involved in 'tarring and feathering'

The prisoner would be stripped naked and then doused with tar. Then he would be covered with feathers. Afterwards, he might be hoisted onto a wooden rail and carried about, giving rise to expressions such as "Hirohito, along with Hitler will be riding on a rail."

Pine tar, used in construction and in ship maintenance, and feathers, used in bedding, were readily available, which facilitated this sort of punishment. Sometimes molasses, widely used as a sweetener and to make rum, was used instead of tar.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

Imagine dumping honey all over someone and then ripping open a couple down pillows and dumping those on the honey covered person

But now comes the heard part you have to tie them to a rail or 12 foot small diameter tree already cut down of course then a few people grab hold and run the scoundrel out of town !

[ATOMIC_PUNK]