HISTORY

Steam powered massagers became popular in the 1870's and were advertised in medical catalogs. They became very popular with doctors as a therapeutic tool used on women patients. They were not treating sore muscles or bad backs, though. They were used to treat hysteria, a disease that never actually existed and was not finally repudiated until the 1950’s. The cure? Manipulation of the genital area until orgasm was achieved (although doctors referred to it more clinically as "hysterical paroxysm"). Hysteria was the most common medical complaint throughout the Victorian era, and doctors quite happily treated the condition.

In 1907, a water actuated vibrator was invented. 1912 introduced the vibratory dilator, an electric device that plugged into the wall and was used to treat frigidity and dilate the vaginas of women who were "too tight". There were a number of battery operated vibrators introduced, inspired no doubt by the introduction in the early part of the century of cylindrically shaped flashlights. The modern vibrator, though, can be traced to the invention of Jon Tavel, who in 1966 patented a cordless, battery operated, torpedo shaped vibrating plastic dildo with variable speed that was also moisture proof.

The word Dildo comes from a Latin word meaning to "open wide". In earlier cultures where sex was not quite as taboo as it is today, dildos held quite an honored place. In ancient Greece around the third century B.C. the city of Miletus was a major manufacturer of what was known as olisbos. Made of wood or padded leather, the lube of choice in those days was olive oil, which was liberally applied to them before use. A play of the time has two women discussing the importance of fine craftsmanship in such devices. In ancient China, dildos were made of wood, jade, and ivory. Unripened bananas have been commonly used in Arab and Polynesian countries. Dildos are represented throughout history in erotic painting, and were often quite beautifully designed, being works of art themselves.

Besides use for pleasure, dildos were often used in deflowering ceremonies. In some cases, dildos were attached to statues, as in the case of Priapus, a Greek god of Ancient Greece whose erect stone statue was used to pierce the hymen of young aristocratic women to better prepare them for marriage.

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