The story of vibrators is every bit as thrilling as the devices themselves, reflecting science, medicine, design, technology, and social history. They were once used as medical instruments and are now used as sex toys.

The steam-powered "Manipulator" appeared in Britain in 1870. Hippocrates thought the womb wasn't a fixed item but wandered about the body looking for trouble. At the moment of orgasm, it gripped the windpipe causing the breathless panting.

In the earliest times women's complaints were characterized by nervousness, fluid retention, insomnia and lack of appetite. Hippocrates thought that a blockage in the womb was the cause. Hence it was called hysteria from the Greek word for womb (hysteros). Galen, a Greek physician, claimed it was caused by sexual deprivation, particularly in passionate women, and was noted in nuns, virgins, widows and occasionally in married women whose husbands were not satisfying their needs.

Massage to paroxysm (orgasm) was the treatment. This treatment was preformed by doctors as treatment for hysteria. The trouble was that doctors regarded this treatment as tedious. Bringing a woman to paroxysm by hand could, understandably, take a very long time. And because it took so long, it wasn't lucrative enough for doctors who needed to see many patients to achieve a reasonable income.

Masturbation (by either sex) was regarded as wrong in those days. It was not only thought to be immoral but something that was thought of as dangerous. "Women with hysteria should not resort to rubbing," said Avicenna, the Muslim scholar and founder of early modern medicine. It was, he advised, "a man's job, suitable only for husbands and doctors".

By the late 19th century water treatments where introduced into spas to do the job more efficiently. In about 1860 what looked like a high-pressure fire hose (a scary French pelvic douche trained on the clitoris) was commonly used. It claimed to induce paroxysm in less than four minutes.

Given that many in the medical profession thought that as much as 75 % of the female population was "hysterical" and that it was a chronic disease which could be relieved but not cured. There was a pressing need for cheaper, less cumbersome devices.

By the mid-1870s steam power had been explored. "The Manipulator" was a table with a cut-out area for the woman's pelvis. A vibrating sphere, driven by a steam engine, then did the work instead of a doctor. It was not suitable for the doctor's treatment room due to its size. It was a niche market poised for exploitation.

In the early 1880s the first British vibrator was manufactured by Weiss Company. It had several interchangeable "vibratodes". It was battery driven and delivered vibrations at the rate of 1,000-7,000 pulses a minute. Then the electromechanical version of the vibrator was designed with every sort of variation: portable, floor-standing, and the "Carpenter" vibrator, which hung from the ceiling, looking like a device similar to something found in a mechanic shop today. These machines were operated by doctors, which medicalised the process and made it entirely proper. But more importantly, the medical concepts of the 1800’s had been that a womans sexual pleasure involves penetration. A bit of rubbing by a doctor was perfectly acceptable because it didn't involve putting anything in the vagina.

Early in the 20th century they were miniaturized somewhat in a manor of speaking. Hand-cranked versions became available, which presumably must have been very tiring and left users worn out long before satisfaction had been achieved.

Electrification made vibrators available in the home by Hamilton Beach of Racine. Hamilton Beach patented their first hand held vibrator in 1902. They were incidentally, electrified ten years before either the washing machine or vacuum cleaner. These machines were very large, with a big box attached and were likely very noisy.

The companies making these vibrators claimed they cured not just hysteria but also deafness, polio, and impotence. Names like Dr Macaura's Blood Circulator and Veedee Vibrator were some of the more common names in those days. Good Housekeeping ran an ad in 1909 claiming they left a glow on your face.

Once this "treatment" had escaped from the medical arena and was available for home use, doctors stopped using it. Vibrators were widely advertised before the First World War. Then the invention of silent films, some of which portrayed them being used sexually, discredited them. Vibrators then disappeared from public view completely for almost 50 years. Although vibrators continued to be offered, labeled as "neck massagers" in catalogs they were no longer an easy item to find.

Hysteria, history's most frequently diagnosed female disorder, was not officially removed as a disease by the American Psychiatric Association until 1952.

By the 1960s and the start of the sexual revolution, shops began to offer them again. This time designed for penetration and for pleasure use. These were largely bought in back streets or back rooms of shops. These vibrators were rather large, noisy, and very plain in appearance and still not well accepted by many.

Almost fifty years later they are being bought by men & women right on Main Street. Now much smaller, in many different colors, shapes, and designed for clitoral stimulation, g- spot and p-spot stimulation, even with realistic penis styles. They now come in every type of material imaginable, some so quiet you can hardly hear them; some are even rechargeable and waterproof.

They have become readily available now and can be found places that 50 years ago would have never considered selling such things. Common department stores now carry them, finger tip massagers and vibrating condoms at K-mart, personal massagers, clit stimulating cock ring and vibrating condoms at CVS drug store and Walgreen’s, dolphin massagers, vibrating cock rings, vibrating condoms and flavored lubes at Wal-Mart, and many other places you would never imagine sell them. Search for your self and see how many places carry them that you would never think of. Would most people want to go to Wal-Mart and scan a sex toy at the check out? Probably not, that’s why online shopping has become a favorite today.

The industry is growing every day to almost 12 billion dollars a year in the US alone. Stores like those listed above have began to realize they were missing out on sales to on-line sex toy stores and decided to get on board. They do not have a large selection like most on-line sex toy stores would have, but never the less they have accepted the fact that people want to buy sex toys and vibrators in the 21st century. So be a part of history in the making and go on-line and see for your self how far vibrators have came since their start almost 150 years ago.