In 2019, humanity can safely celebrate 150 years since the advent of the manipulator, a device that is a prototype of modern vibrators. In 1869, Dr. George Taylor created this large steam structure, which was so impressive in size that it did not fit in one room. Rather, the engine of the manipulator was in a separate room, and the vibrating part protruded from the wall. If you doubt the true purpose of the appearance of this monster, we will call it: George Taylor did not want to treat his patients with hysteria anymore. And the treatment meant … massage the patient’s vulva to a state of “hysterical paroxysm,” which was supposed to temporarily relieve the symptoms of the disease. I must say that the patients left the doctor “delighted, as if after a glass of champagne.” But the doctor was very tired.

From stone phalluses to leather dildos

The first archaeologically documented dildo was found by German archaeologists in the Hohle Fels Cave (“Empty Rock”) in southwest Germany and is about 28,000 years old. It is made of polished alevrolit, has a length of about 18,796 centimeters, a width of 3.81 inches and weighs slightly more than 220 grams. That is, in addition to hunting, gathering, striking fire and creating rock art, the person had time for other activities.

Of course, skeptics claim that this object symbolizes fertility and procreation and used it exclusively for worship. And indeed, a member in a state of erection, as a rule, was a subject that personifies strength, fertility, and served as a talisman to scare away evil spirits and protect against enemies. However, thousands of such items exhibited in temples around the world, even in our days, have not only religious functions. A huge number of artificial penises made of stone, marble, wood, found all over the planet, show that it is not only rituals.

There are no doubts about the belonging of phallic objects when it comes to ancient Greece, where descriptions of wooden dildos covered with leather or soft leather phalli are found, stuffed inside with wool. The famous comedy of Aristophanes “Lysistrata” tells that women refuse to men intimacy until men stop a meaningless war. Instead of men, women choose a dildo.

Dive into the Middle Ages

In the 12th century, dildos were already widely known throughout the world. In France, they were called “Godemic” (artificial penis). And in Italy they were called “Dilettos” (Pleasure, joy). It is not known how medieval Europe would have had fun if, after the end of the Crusade epoch, the church would not have taken seriously the moral character of its parishioners. And first of all – women.

The witch hunt that unfolded in that era completely replaced the boom of social networks in our time. The so-called witches were accused of bringing men to sexual impotence with their rituals; their penises “disappeared” because the witches kept these penises in a nest in a tree. Unholy spirits were the cause of charm — a condition that is very similar to the early descriptions of hysteria. His “treatment” led to the death of thousands of women. Some modern historians claim that the first accusations of witchcraft in Europe came about because of the anxiety of male doctors associated with the church that they had to compete with female healers. So the violence encouraged by the church contributed to the growth of the European medical profession.

First mechanical toys

As they say, the first mechanical sex toys were invented by gay German millers, who used the vibrating arms of flour-grinding machines for their own pleasure. And if this theory is not documented, it is absolutely certain that in 1734 an enterprising person from France invented a groovy vibrator called “Le Tremoussoir”.

The “manipulator”, the “culprit” of our 150th anniversary, had several manual-controlled predecessors, but it was he who became one of the first mechanical vibrators that was precisely used to treat hysteria. Already at the end of the 19th century, inventors would adopt not only a steam engine, but also electricity. In 1883, Joseph Mortimer Granville introduced the Granville’s Hammer, an electric vibrator with various attachments and a heavy but portable battery. And although according to Granville, his device should have been used only for massage, which became very popular at the end of the 19th century, it’s not a fact that this massage did not have an erotic background. In any case, from now on, leisure magazines for ladies began to publish advertisements about vibrators as devices for health and beauty (with a significant wink at the reader).

Transferring to the twentieth century

Since then, the spirit of the invention, apparently, was unstoppable: at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900, more than a dozen different vibrators were presented: some of them hung from the ceiling or were attached to mobile devices. In 1918, the American company Sears, Roebuck & Co. presented a multifunctional kitchen tool consisting of a mixer, a fan and (!) a vibrator.

Until the twenties of the last century, vibrators were freely sold in stores and pharmacies. But when the porn industry turned its lustful attention to vibrators, the latter had to move to the shelves of specialty stores. Where vibrators sat quietly before the sexual revolution of the 60s. Already in 1966, the first wireless vibrator appeared, and by the early eighties, thanks to the US government campaign against AIDS, not only information about the disease and how it is transmitted appears, but also recommendations on the use of condoms and vibrators are published. It is at this time that the famous device appears – the Rabbit Pearl rabbit with two processes – great for diving into the vagina and smaller for stimulating the clitoris. In the nineties of the last century, attitudes toward sex toys gradually change in society. Firstly, something vicious is no longer seen in them – not least because of the effervescent humor of the series “Sex and the City”. And secondly, sex toys get an attractive look. In 1996, the Fun Factory company, for the first time in the sex toy industry, used colored silicone for a vibrator and brought to the market a vibrator in the form of a dolphin, which certainly didn’t resemble the horrible Chinese plastic dildo from all sex shops in the world.

Nowadays

Since 2002, the vibrators have become waterproof and equipped with an ergonomic control unit. The first rechargeable vibrator was developed. In 2008, the Delight vibrator from Fun Factory received the main prize of the Red Dot Design Award – a kind of designer Oscar. This was the first time in the history of the erotic industry when a sex gadget won an award for design. Since then, dozens of sex toys have been awarded for design at many prestigious exhibitions and leading manufacturers began to cooperate with world-renowned artists and designers.

In 2012, new sex toys appeared – pulsators: they push back and forth instead of vibration without the help of hands. And surely this new inventions are not finished.