History Main / WheelOfPain

* Used in ''ComicStrip/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.

* The Creator/LouisDeFunes film ''Delusions of Grandeur'' ends with the protagonists chained to one of those. It pumps water [[spoiler: for a tiny "pet" palm tree of a Bedouin chief]].

Has little or nothing to do with [[VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}} Painwheel]]. Nor about breaking on the wheel, which is even ''worse''. [[SincerityMode Look it up at your own risk]]

Grim SisterTrope of HamsterWheelPower, which examples may also be, if the wheels actually do something.

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

* On a more lighthearted note: Karol Borchard, who used to be an officer on a ship in the Mediterraenean (in ''XX century'') mentions in his memories a passenger utterly convinced that the ship '''must''' be ran by [[ShirtlessCaptives sweaty]], [[SlaveGalley whip-driven rowers]]. Why? Because she's [[TaughtByTelevision seen it in the movies]].

[[quoteright:250:[[Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982 http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conanpain_422.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Round and round they go, which is really saying something.]]

* In the medieval period, there were pieces of construction machinery called treadle cranes, powered by people walking in, as in the example above, what amounted to a giant hamster wheel. They were basically the engines of the cranes used in castle and cathedral construction. They could also be powered by animals (a tiny version was found in kitchens, powered by a dog- so common that there was a specific breed of dog created for this)

* In the later books of ''AudioPlay/LeDonjonDeNaheulbeuk'', the barbarian, hired by an elven army as a drill sergeant, sets up one such wheel just for the purpose strength training. He calls it the Wheel Of Muscle and reminisces about the more impressive ones he saw in his homeland.

* Before steam and internal combustion engines became reasonable in size and price, lots of agricultural machinery ran using workhorses in precisely this manner.

Has little or nothing to do with [[VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}} Painwheel]]. Nor about breaking on the wheel, which is even ''worse'' [[SincerityMode Look it up at your own risk]]

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

* In the later books of ''Franchise/LeDonjonDeNaheulbeuk'', the barbarian, hired by an elven army as a drill sergeant, sets up one such wheel just for the purpose strength training. He calls it the Wheel Of Muscle and reminisces about the more impressive ones he saw in his homeland.

Grim sister trope of HamsterWheelPower.

* Named for the device from ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'', which turned the titular character from a scrawny kid into the musclebound {{Badass}} that rampaged across two films. (Indeed, Arnold Schwarzenegger buffed up ''so much'' for the movie, when he was being filmed pushing it along, the director had to have half the crew on the other side of the wheel pushing the opposite direction so it'd look like Arnie was actually exerting himself.) According to WordOfGod, it's a grain wheel.

Has little or nothing to do with [[VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}} Painwheel]] but see in the VideoGames folder below.

* While it may be non-slavery example, Painwheel from ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' has a giant wheel [[BodyHorror coming out of her spine.]] [[spoiler: Part of her story deals with her breaking free from her master's control, playing on this trope.]]

* Zombie slaves provide the motive power for a similar sugar-mill capstan in ''Film/WhiteZombie'' (1932, and not connected with RobZombie beyond a AGoodNameForARockBand).

Grim subtrope of HamsterWheelPower.

* Used in ''Comicbook/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.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

* In ''{{Comicbook/Lucifer}}'', Hell is seen to have one of these.
* Used in ''Comicbook/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.

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Religion ]]

[[folder: Videogames ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Seen in an episode of ''TheCritic'', when Alice is looking for a preschool for her daughter. One school she visits turns out to be a Dickensian workhouse, complete with a Wheel Of Pain being operated by the children. It turns out its actually a sweatshop that produces Simpsons-merchandise.