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Electricity applied in a "strictly scientific manner"

I recently began a fun Twitter project, tweeting tidbits from American Jewess, the first English-language publication directed to American Jewish women (and this blog's namesake), edited by the original Jewess, Rosa Sonneschein.  Today I came across this ad from the October 1895 issue, and almost fell out of my chair.

 

 

"Dr. A. Owen's Electric Belt gives a mild, continuous current of electricity, applied in a strictly scientific manner.  Ladies, in particular, find it a sure and certain cure for all kinds of nervous troubles."

Hmm... a vibrating belt marketed to women to cure all kinds of "nervous troubles" ... You can make your own conclusions, but I bet a product like this would take off in Alabama, where the State Supreme Court recently upheld a ban on sex toys.

You can follow Rosa Sonneschein on Twitter for more tidbits from American Jewess, learn about the American Jewess research project, or browse the October issue here.

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How to cite this page

Berkenwald, Leah. "Electricity applied in a "strictly scientific manner"." 2 October 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on June 15, 2026) <https://qa.jwa.org/blog/electric-belt>.