According to Boing Boing, the turnspit dog was a short-legged, long-bodied breed engineered for a singular purpose: running inside wooden wheels connected to kitchen roasting spits to power the mechanism. First documented in 1576 in England, these animals were also known as Kitchen Dogs or Cooking Dogs—a breed that eventually went extinct.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton