[Stratoscope]

These are the same pots they boil the frogs in.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog

[throes_death]

and cook the soup in. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Soup

[alexanderdmitri]

having turned to boiling the stone after exhausting all their methods of drawing blood from it

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/blood_from_a_stone