<P> Stocks are restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation . </P> <P> The stocks, pillory, and pranger each consist of large wooden boards with hinges; however, the stocks are distinguished by restraining one's feet . </P> <P> The stocks consist of placing boards around the ankles and wrists, whereas in the pillory the boards are fixed to a pole and placed around the arms and neck, forcing the punished to stand . </P> <P> Some consider the stocks an example of torture and cruel and unusual punishment . Victims may be insulted, kicked, tickled, spat on, or subjected to other inhumane acts . In the Bible, the treatment of Paul and Silas, disciples of Jesus, was detailed in the Acts of the Apostles: "Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks ." The Old Testament's book of Job also describes the stocks, referring to God: </P>

What is the thing called that you put your head and arms in