History
This page goes through some of the history of
the polygraph.
Before
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Before the invention of the polygraph, people
used more complicated lie detection methods, which consisted
mostly of torture. An example of this from the Middle Ages is
the use of boiling water to detect liars. It was believed that
liars wouldn't be able to withstand it as well as honest men
(Grubin).
Old
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In 1895, Cesare Lombroso invented a device
used to measure changes in blood pressure for police cases. In
1904, Vittorio Benussi invented a device to measure breathing.
During World War I, American William Marston created a device
that measured blood pressure for a (later abandoned)
government project to examine German prisoners of war
(POWs).
A strong correlation was found between blood pressure and
lying from Marston's machine. Marston's main inspiration for
the device was his wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, who
claimed that her blood pressure seemed to climb when when got
mad or excited.
In 1921, Dr. John Augustus Larson invented a device recording
both blood pressure and breathing, which was the first to be
applied in law enforcement. In 1939, Leonarde Keeler, Larson's
protege, updated the device by making it portable and
added the galvanic skin response to it.
Since then, many polygraphs have been created with more types
of, and more accurate, sensors. This includes sensors that
measure heart rate, muscular activity, brain activity, and
much more (The History).
Wonder Woman
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William Marston, in addition to being the
"father of the polygraph," is the creator (influenced by
Elizabeth Martston) of the comic book character Wonder Woman,
who carries a magic lasso modeled after his pneumograph test
(The History).