Antique Vibrator Museum Opens With A Buzz

Far from sexy, vibrators pretty much resembled power tools when they were first introduced. Doesn't this device look like it could strip the paint off a car?
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On assignment for COED, this week I took a historical romp into the wild and wonderful world of vibrators. Good Vibrations in San Francisco kicked open its doors on Thursday for the grand opening of the Antique Vibrator Museum. The exhibit covers the "weird and wonderful" world of vibrators from the 1800s to modern-day. Very informative indeed: the electric vibrator had its inception in 1869 with the invention of a steam-powered massager patented by an American doctor. The invention preceded the electric vacuum, iron and frying pan by nearly a decade. (Not to mention preceding the home alarm system by a century.)

Far from sexy, vibrators pretty much resembled power tools when they were first introduced. Doesn't this device look like it could strip the paint off a car?

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Hysterical: With a nod-and-a-wink, vibrators were originally marketed as "health and beauty" devices or "head massagers." Those in-the-know interpreted their true purpose. At the 1900 Paris Expo, a dozen vibrators were first on display as sexual devices. Oh, those crazy French!

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Check out the entire pictorial at COED

Photos by Harmon Leon

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