From Futility Closet:
In 1900, evidently tired of initiating pledges by hand, Edmund and Ulysses de Moulin decided to automate the process.With their “initiating device,” the applicant is blindfolded, placed in position, and told to pull the handles to test his strength. When he does so, the paddle spanks him and an electric shock passes through his arms, “making the sensation rather unique.”
