How the Electric Chair Works

# Stuff You Should Know Episode Summary

Josh and Chuck dive into the grim history of the electric chair, exploring how this uniquely American execution method came to be and why it was supposedly considered more humane than hanging. They trace the bizarre path from botched hangings in the 1800s through a shadowy commission that tested electrocution on hundreds of dogs, all while uncovering the corporate intrigue of the War of Currents, where Thomas Edison secretly backed the electric chair to make his competitor's AC current look deadly and dangerous. The episode is packed with gruesome details about how electrocutions actually work, famous executions gone terribly wrong, and the surprisingly dark characters who invented this technology—including a dentist and a shady operative playing corporate sabotage with something meant to kill people.