What?s In a Name?Vibrators now carry an overtly sexual association, with names likeFlex-a-pleaser, Auto Erotic, and Beaver. When they were medicaldevices, they were called by a variety of names that concealed theirsexual uses.Steam-powered Manipulator (1860s)Electro-massage machine (1888)Concussor (1898)Medical Rubbing Apparatus (1876)Physician?s Vibragenitant (1906)Vibratile (1899)Muscle Beater (1904)Electric Health Generator (1928)from Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm.