The Nutcracker’s Dark Origins

Nutcrackers were designed to crack skulls. Medieval executioners used wooden figures

with hinged jaws to crush the bones of condemned prisoners. The mechanism was perfect.

Apply pressure, hear the crack, watch the jaw close tighter. They called it mercy

because it was faster than other methods. The painted smile, the decorative uniform, all of it existed

to make death look dignified. Centuries later, someone decided these execution

devices belonged in our homes. Under our Christmas trees. In our children's

hands. We mount them on shelves, line them up like little wooden soldiers,

never questioning why they have those dead eyes and that aggressive stance. That clicking sound