A Bit Of A Morbid Subject,

gallows humour, 

 both of these phrases, ‘pulling one’s leg’ and ‘falling off the wagon’ come from the scaffold, but what I found more interesting is that the hand of an executed man was believed to be a medicinal cure for a whole range of ailments, so it was common to pay the executioner for access to the body or indeed buy body parts, 

The Hanged Man in a Piedmontese Tarot deck, by F. F. Solesio, another thing that I did not know was that the wood used in the scaffold could be a cure for both ague and toothache, even the rope made its way into the hands of souvenir hunters, tied around the head, the hangman’s rope could cure headaches, it also acted as a good luck charm, particularly for those who played cards, so if you fancy a short read about the short drop with a sudden stop, have a look here.