Coal-Powered Steam Vibrators Were Used to Cure Female Health Maladies
Late nineteenth century doctors believed that there was a female hysteria epidemic. Some prominent physicians estimated that three out of every four American women suffered from the malady. However, inducing “female paroxysm” in patients to restore them to good health took a lot of time. It was difficult to teach and learn, doctors complained that it often took an hour or more, and many suffered wrist fatigue – carpal tunnel syndrome, as we would call it today. So physicians turned to mechanical vibrators. The first steam-powered vibrator, fueled with coal packed into a furnace, was invented in 1869. However, such vibrators were bulky contraptions, some as big as dining room tables. They took up too much space in doctors’ offices, and were too cumbersome to tote around in a medical kit for house visits.
The problem of too-cumbersome vibrators was finally solved by Hamilton Beach, the makers of kitchen appliances such as coffee makers, toasters, and blenders. In 1902, they marketed the “Try New Life”, the world’s first commercially available vibrator. Because of the conventional mores of the day, the devices could not be advertised for what they actually were. Instead, they were marketed as health devices. Specifically, as “electrical massagers” to ease sore and aching muscles. Some people probably did buy them in order to ease sore and aching muscles. However, it was very much a wink-wink-nudge-nudge situation. The devices were marketed to women, the overwhelming majority of purchasers were women, and it was common knowledge among women just what the vibrators were for.
