Robert Dannov, age 10, of Bellingham, Wash., for his question:

WHAT WAS A PILLORY?

A pillory was an instrument once used to punish people for minor offenses. It was made up of a wooden framework with holes cut in it for the arms and the head of the victims.

People were locked into a pillory for a certain length of time. The pillory usually stood on a platform in a public square. The victims suffered not only because of their uncomfortable position, but also because passers by jeered and often threw rotten eggs at them.

Sometimes prisoners' heads were shaved to increase their shame ! while in the pillory. The English used the pillory in the 1600s.

The Puritans brought the pillory with them to New England and used it often often to punish "notorious drunkards, scolds and bawds."