1 - no idea where this should end up. It’s a question for a story I’m working on, and it’s sort of medical advice, and sort of a factual question, so yeah.
2 - I am, obviously, not going to go beat anyone with a variety of implements to figure this out on my own.
3 - The internet scares me, and I really don’t want to just go do a google image search for people who have been beaten bloody.
All that out of the way, I’m in need of an implement that would be found in a normal american household, can be used by a woman of no particular strength on a helpless victim inside a standard 7’ tall room, and would cause a shit ton of pain in a fairly short amount of time (less than 5 minutes), but not much actual permanent damage, and preferably, makes the victim look really awful (ie, bloody, bruised) but not entirely incapacitated (other than by pain) once they’ve been worked over.
I don’t read murder mysteries or thrillers or abuse memoirs, so I really am not up on my implements of torture. The only one I do know is that a family dedicated to ‘corporal punishment’ of children advocates using plastic tubing because it doesn’t leave marks, which is the exact opposite of what I need for the storyline.
See? Perfect answer, and I never in a million years would have thought about that. I had disqualified the belt because it wouldn’t draw blood in the short time in question, and never even considered turning it around. I swear, I am way more sheltered than my subconscious thinks I am.
Otherwise, I’m glad to know that a wire coat hanger also does work as an option.
While spaghetti would be amusing, being beaten with a wet noodle is actually already in there as a joke, so I don’t want to carry it too far.
If anyone wants to throw in other implements, I won’t object. The more options the merrier, and something else might strike my fancy more.
Electrical cord is what I would use. Specifically, one from a vacuum cleaner. It’s long enough that you can hold the plug in your hand and make a loop about 4 feet long which will make quite a nice whip. You’ll be able to hit a lot harder then you would with a hanger. You could also use it to restrain the person if they fight back a bit. Bind their hands or pin them to the floor with it for a minute so they tire out from fighting.
I remember an episode of Dragnet (?) where this was done and they might it seem common enough that Joe (or maybe the coroner) knew to check for fibers in the kids back that were left from frayed parts of the cord.
So, if you need to you could make it an old vacuum with a frayed electrical cord and it can leave fibers in the person skin…if that can be used anyways.
Especially with the plug end, for an electrical cord.
Maybe a sturdy wire whisk would do it. I don’t have a standard one, so I don’t know what would happen to said whisk or person if used for a few minutes as a weapon - though I suppose if the wires did start bending or breaking as a result of being used to beat someone, that would hurt even more.
A number of standard kitchen implements would work; wooden or hard plastic spoons, spatulas, those stand-up paper towel holders, etc. Agree with the belt buckle and electric cord (regular cords, or extension cords or power strips). Rolled-up magazines (bonus: papercuts!). High-heeled shoes.
electrical cord. It’s always at hand and easy to grab in a rage and causes a lot of pain. I’ve never done it, but I do know a person who did in fact beat more than one person with an electrical cord on more than one occasion*. It would be very believable to me in your story.
*yes it’s horrible and sad and we don’t talk about it because it was many, many years ago and the victims are either gone or over it.
I can tell you from experience that if someone hits you hard enough a few times with one of those wire-handled plastic flyswatters, the plastic flyswatter end will work itself loose on a backswing, and you will wind up with a bad gash from the loose wire ends of the handle.
On the upside, you will then agree that yes, you will go with the family to your older sister’s high school graduation after all.
FWIW.
And, just so you know, my dad felt horrible about the whole thing.
Maybe not what you’re going for exactly, but she could clout the victim over the head with a glass coffee pot or something like that. She only gets one swing, but it will probably break into shards and cut the victim’s face and head pretty badly. Even minor cuts to the scalp bleed like crazy. Whenever I give myself a nick shaving my head, I look like a character in a Tarantino film.
