The history of the vibrator

This week, Slate is publishing a series of articles devoted to everyone's favorite past time—sex. They'll be taking a look at the ways sex has slipped into nearly every aspect of our society—from politics to culture to medicine. In honor of this special issue, they offer a 2005 slide show about the history of the vibrator. Despite its modern reputation as a device of carnal pleasure, its origins are surprisingly sterile.