This Day in 1381: Biometric Age Verification Leads to Beheadings

In the spring of 1381 the English crown levied a poll tax on everyone aged fifteen and over. To verify age the collectors were said to need to inspect bodies directly. The story goes, perhaps exaggerated, perhaps a metaphor to expose state-sanctioned rape, that there would be official measuring of pubic hair, meaning the cost … Continue reading This Day in 1381: Biometric Age Verification Leads to Beheadings →