premise: The guillotine was a machine used to kill people by chopping off their head. It consists of a heavy blade attached to a frame. When the blade was released, it would fall down under its own weight and chop off the victims head, killing them instantly. It was commonly used in France during the French Revolution as it was the only legal method of execution in order to enact the death penalty. The guillotine was named after a French doctor called Joseph Guillotin. He decided that a more humane way of executing someone was needed as he realised he was unable to get rid of the death penalty. He decided that using an automatic mechanical device for decapitation would be more humane than by a person with an axe. The first guillotine built was then tested on animals to see if the axe would have enough force to decapitate its victim. Before the guillotine was used in execution, the criminal would be hanged. This was seen to be less humane as the victim was supposed to die from the impact of the rope snapping their necks, however this did not happen all the time. The victim could be in agony for up to forty minutes before eventually dying from asphyxiation.
hypothesis: Hanging usually causes death by asphyxiation.