Do you have revolutionary fever, or revolutionary FOMO? Order one of these top five guillotines now and be totally prepped for certain upcoming events we have been legally instructed not to reference directly.
The cutting off of heads is generally considered unseemly, but in any civilized society it’s occasionally necessary. The “who” question is easily answered, but the “how” question is trickier. A guillotine, yes, but which? Fortunately, in today’s market economy, there is a guillotine to suit every taste and personality.
Are you a first-time guillotine-buyer who can’t make beheads or betails of all the options? Or are you just ready to upgrade from that avocado-colored Slice-o-matic from the 1970s? The technology for chopping off the heads of the bourgeois oppressors may not have changed much since the late 18th century, but the features and design have gone through a revolution (if you will).
Without further ado, we invite you to check out our top five guillotines of 2020. Our most attentive consumer reporters have reviewed all the season’s latest models, so that when the revolution comes, you won’t find yourself unprepared—or unstylish.
More like the heads that fell to earth! This rockstar rig slashes through spines in what Pitchfork calls “an aspirational yet haunting metaphor for alienation.” It also does so literally.
When quarantine ends, what better way to celebrate than on the rooftop of your building with gin martinis, your fellow renters, and your landlord resting comfortably in the Guillotini’s padded lunette (because he’s been drugged before the main event)?
It happens. You think you hate the rich, and you do, but when you look at the raw numbers it turns out you totally qualify as a member of the 1 percent. “But I inherited that lake house from my uncle! Those are his oil stocks!” Yeah, well, you’d better give it all up or you’re going to have to give it all up, if you know what we mean.
Everybody loves Baby Yoda! This mini guillotine comes with an animatronic, life-sized, cuddly Baby Yoda that approvingly drinks real bone broth while you remove fingers from overpaid Disney execs until they agree to pay their fucking workers.
Special thanks to Maria Torres-Quevedo for the original concept of this ranking.
Our stunning 56th issue is here. This is a fun one, folks. Ron Purser shows how the cannibalization of universities by ChatGPT goes beyond student cheating—administrations are embracing the very AI tools that are undoing the institution. Our correspondent K. Wilson takes a trip to the Bible Museum in D.C., Emily Topping revisits the bizarre reality show Kid Nation,Alex Skopic introduces us to a creepy red tower that serves as a metaphor for our economic system, Ciara Moloney shows us how underrated Western movies are, Hank Kennedy looks at old anti-communist comic books, and I pay tribute to New Orleans music! That’s before we get to all the wonderful art and loopy “false advertising,” including products like Democratic Inaction Figures and the “Slur Cone.” It’s a jam-packed issue filled with colorful surprises and insightful analysis, plus gorgeous cover art by Sarah VanDermeer. Check it out!