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  • Sex toys through the decades

  • By Rob Greig

    Posted: Mon Nov 9 2009

  • The sex industry likes to keep abreast of technology - the fifth home appliance ever to use electricity (circa the 1980s) was a vibrator. So we took a trip to the Science Museum to look at its collection of vibrators, dildos and intimate massage devices through the ages

    Sex toys through the decades

    Shelton vibrator 1910s

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    • Ivory dildo from the 1700s. Found in a nunnery, this phallus has a plunger action to simulate ejaculation. Medieval physician Arnold of Villanova recommended that nuns and widows use dildos to relieve hysteria. A plastic iGasm from the 2000s. The device plugs in to an iPod and syncs with the music. This Roman terracotta phallus dates from circa 100BC. It was not used as a sex toy but as a votive offering to the gods for increased potency or fertility. The Rampant Rabbit was a big hit in the '90s. The supersoft pink plastic warms to body temperature. From 1904 the metal and rubber Veedee was commercially available as a general massager. It looks like an egg whisk, but it vibrates. Shelton vibrator made of Bakelite and metal. Made by General Electric, it has ten attachments for different sensations. The box for the Veedee, which says it's also known as the 'Veni, vici' ('I came, I conquered'). This cast-iron French device dates from 1890 and would have to have been secured to either a wall or a floor and used by a medical practitioner. The gauge moves from 'Fort' to 'Faible' (strong to weak). A stainless steel Niagara Vibrating Unit from the 1960s. Made in America for home use as a general massager.

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