–Christian Friedrich Nasse’s Thanatometer was a long thermometer that was inserted into the stomach, supposedly measuring a core body temperature that would determine if life was possible (and published in 1841);

–The (Englishman’s) Barnett scalding death cure, which recommended burning the skin of the arm to see if it blistered (no blister/no life);

–the German Middeldorph invented a heart flag, a needle device that would be thrust into the heart, which if functioning would trigger something or other that would cause a flag to be released at the top of the needle (I can’t stop laughing at this one);

–Christian August Struwe’s interesting Lebenspruefer (1805) was an electrical device that delivered a dual shock to the eye and lip, the logic here being that if the person was still alive that there would be a resulting twitch;

–the nameless tobacco enema, which blew smoke…(delivered in the beginning by breath through a tube and improved later to replacing the lips with a bellows, this secondary improvement by Antoine Louis2 and furthered by Dr. P.J.B. Previnaire’s much more powerful anal tobacco furnace (This is a nice invention for my Eberron artificer). )

–Leon Collongues believed that he could hear the capillary functions of a possibly-dead person’s fingers if placed in his ear;

–Jules Antoine Josat3 invented a nipple-pincher (“pince-mamelon”) life-rejuvenation device, operating on the assumption that a deeply sedated person could not resist a strong pinch of the nipple and would have to wake up if alive.

I love that century! But I’m really grateful I was born in this time, because although the ideas are brilliant, they are also often very sinister.

For more information – and very interesting articles in general – go here

Freakangels is a steampunk comic, set in a post-apocalyptic London.
After a group of mutant teenagers destroyed the world, they retreated to Whitechapel and now they are trying to salvage what’s left of humanity and civilisation (not much).

Story
The story has been overall of high-quality, with a perfect mix of weekly cliff-hangers and exciting long-term plot. It’s written by Warren Ellis, a veteran comic writer. I know him mostly from Hellblazer, though he’s done much, much more.

Art
The artwork is extraordinary, and aside from looking good on the web, it looks absolutely stunning on paper. Recently they switched to a new colourist, who is going a great job.

www.freakangels.com

Here is a great tutorial on how to create a steampunk painting in Photoshop! And if you don’t like the image of this man, check out the source files the tutorialist compiled, and create your own steampunk character.