The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE ) recognizes a dozen meanings of stocks , a term that comes from Latin cippus. The first meaning mentioned by the RAE refers to a instrument that allows to immobilize and retain a person .
This device is built with two timbers that, when joined, have holes in the middle. Thus, in said openings a leg or throat of the individual can be secured when both timbers meet. He subject , therefore, cannot move freely.
There are, however, various formats of stocks. In ancient times stocks were used to hunt animals (holding one leg).
In the same way, we cannot ignore the existence of what is known as torture. This was a device that was used centuries ago to, as its name suggests, torture people for obtaining information or with the clear objective of pleading guilty to a crime.
That type of stocks made the individual in question be trapped by hands and feet. It is also necessary to establish that, on many occasions, the person was placed with the stocks in a public place so that people could perform all kinds of harassment. Thus, this could not only spit on him but also urinate on him, defecate him, throw rotten food ... Moreover, he could even attack him.
In the most serious cases that have gone down in history, it has been known that people tortured with this type of stocks became mutilated, burned and even stoned.
For a long time this type of stocks was one of the most used torture systems by the Holy Inquisition along with others such as the mountains, the cradle of Judas, the foal or the garrucha.
At present there are also so-called rat stocks. They can be used at home and, as the name implies, it aims to catch those rodents that roam the home. Among the best known are the spring stocks, the glue stocks, the bucket stocks, the bottle stocks or the plastic stocks.
There are stocks that are used to prevent the movement of a car . These stocks apply to those vehicles that are parked in places where it is not allowed to do so. The car that has a stocks in a wheel You cannot move forward: this forces your driver to pay the fine if you intend for the authorities to remove the item.
A alms stocks It is a piggy bank that enables the introduction of money , but do not remove it, unless the person has the key to open the box. That's why they are often used for alms collection in churches .
It is called currency stocks Finally, to a restriction imposed by a government to the purchase of foreign currencies. Through these types of measures, citizens cannot go to the exchange market, which experiences a kind of blockade. The idea of currency stocks became popular in Argentina in 2011 .
