History Main / WheelOfPain

* ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' has a massive horizontal treadmill used to power the elevator to and from the Citadel.

* In ''{{Bizenghast}}'' volume 3, the characters are forcibly chained to one of these.
* Electricity in Tentei's Capital in ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' comes from such a contraption, run by slaves.

* The device that raised or lowered the anchor aboard an old-fashioned sailing ship worked on this principle. Anchors were incredibly heavy and quite a few men had to work the windlass.

* ''DaiMahouTouge'' {{Omake}} had this in the [[CrapsaccharineWorld Fantasy Kingdom]].

* Electricity in Tentei's Capital in ''FistOfTheNorthStar'' comes from such a contraption.

* In "{{Comicbook/Lucifer}}", Hell is seen to have one of these.
* Used in ThePhantom in one storyline. The second Phantom is briefly held prisoner at one of these, which judging by the design of the wheel powers a mill, and is almost broken by the hard labor and torture, until a vision of his wife and his father, the original Phantom, spurs him into freeing himself by resuming the work by night when his torturer isnt present and using the wheel spokes to wear away on the chain. Eventually, he's worn it away enough for him to break it, and overpowers the torturer and locks him onto the wheel instead.

* A variant in ''RangersApprentice'' - Skandian slaves turn the rack, which is a pair of paddles that aggravate the surface of the water in the well to prevent it freezing over in winter. It's such gruelling work that even the slave owners, who drive their slaves hard, recognise they can only work on it for two hours at a time.

* ''TrueBlood'', but not before the second season. Actually, [[spoiler:Eric has one in the basement of his bar]].

* An unoccupied one is seen in Cimmeria in AgeOfConan. It might even be the same in the Trope Picture..

* The World's Strongest Man competition has this. As it is inspired by the Connan movie, its appropriately called Conan's Wheel. Its heavy to lift and going in circles gives you a higher score.
* Sugar plantations used to have presses that would work on the same principle, the Americas was notorious for these machines being pushed by slaves, and horrific accidents were commonplace.

* Spoofed on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons,'' where Homer is forced to work one, which turns a display wheel at the canteen.
-->'''Lenny:''' Hmm, I wonder what makes the cupcakes turn.\\

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has the Christmas special "The Next Doctor", with orphans turning this this type of device to [[spoiler:turn the machinery to start the Cyber King]].

* The World's Strongest Man competition has this. As it is inspired by the Connan movie, its appropriately called the Conna's Wheel. Its heavy to lift and going in circles gives you a higher score.

* Cobra from ''GIJoe'' in many of its earlier episodes inexplicably kept haggard looking slaves wearing rags, turning wheels and pushing mining carts, despite that fact that Cobra prided itself on using the sorts of advanced technology that would have made it easier to mine via automation.

** The Black pearl has a similar device... to raise and lower the anchor. Most ships of that age had one. (This is what a capstan is; several sea-shanties are paced to the rhythm ideal for pushing it, to keep everyone walking at the same pace.)

** There's a surprisingly grisly moment for the era the movie's in when one of the zombies ''falls into'' the mill and is mindlessly ground up by the rest.

* ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' had the Kraken Hammer raised by a device of this sort.

* The film adaptation of the musical ''OliverTwist'' briefly shows a variation on the theme, as detailed in RealLife below, during the opening scene.

Has little or nothing to do with [[VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}} Painwheel]].

* ''TrueBlood'', but not before the second season. Actually, [[spoiler:Godric has one in the basement of his bar]].

Can occasionally [[WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture happen in a futuristic setting]]. These wheels often don't even ''do anything''; presumably they're only used because the bad guys are [[ForTheEvulz just dicks]].

** At one point in ''Wishology,'' the fairies are forced to do this by the Eliminators. Cupid asks "What happens if we stop pushing this thing?" They decide to find out...and discover that it plays the melancholy background music.

[[caption-width-right:250:Round and round we go.]]

Has nothing to do with [[VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}} Painwheel]].