Well you learn something new every day. I was watching Modern Marvels on the History Channel tonight, and the topic was the technology of sex. It was all about how humans throughout history have adapted whatever technological advances to sex.

The most amusing segment was on the history of the vibrator. I didn't know that vibrators were originally invented in the Victorian 1880's as a medical device.

Dating back to the time of Hippocrates, women were diagnosed with the condition called "hysteria." The prescribed treatment for hysteria was vulvular massage, bringing about what was called "hysterical paroxysm."

The doctor would perform the vulvular massage in his office, usually by hand. It was a very time consuming and labor intensive procedure, taking up to an hour to bring the lady to hysterical paroxysm. And most women had to return week after week for repeat procedures. As more and more women came down with hysteria, something had to be done. There was simply not enough time in the day to take care of all the patients.

So, doctors began looking at ways to mechanize the procedure.

Hydrotherapy became a popular treatment. Doctors would shoot a stream of water directly at the patient's vagina. This treatment, while fashionable, had its drawbacks. One being that it was very messy.

Then, in the 1880's, a British physician stepped to plate and developed the first electric vibrator, pictured here:
This device was designed to be a permanent fixture in the doctor's office. With it, the doctor could stimulate his patient to hysterical paroxysm in 10 minutes or less.

It's a good thing this came along, because history shows that about the time it was invented, an epidemic of hysteria swept across Europe and America.