The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices

The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices has an on line display of questionable medical devices from the distant and not so distant past.

With featured devices dating from 1890 to as late as 1996, the on line display is an interesting look at the history of medical devices in the United States.

The Museum

The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices is physically located at the Science Museum of Minnesota at 120 W. Kellogg Boulevard. The Internet has made it possible for those of us who will not be able to visit in person to view some of the artifacts from the comfort of home. This interesting collection can be found at www.museumofquackery.com/.

The On Line Collection

The on line collection of the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices is a no-frills clickable voyage through the interesting and sometimes disturbing world of medical history.

Questionable Devices

Questionable medical devices available for on line viewing include the 1976 Foot Operated Breast Enlarger Pump and The Timely Warning, a 1905 invention intended to put an end to nocturnal emissions in males.

Other, tamer devices are featured as well. The Natural Eyesight System and the Shoe Fitting X-Ray Device are two examples of this.

By far, the most disturbing questionable medical devices are the Prostate Cures. Just looking at the photographs of the devices should be enough to cure anyone of any complaint concerning any body orifice.

Quacks

The category entitled "Quacks" and subtitled "Great American Quacks" contains links to biographical sketches of questionable medical practitioners.

The most famous of these is probably Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, although the site takes care to point out that the label of quack is somewhat misapplied in the case of the breakfast cereal king: "Kellogg was not a true quack...nonetheless, (he) engaged in questionable medical practices."

Also listed in this category are Oscilloclast inventor Dr. Albert Abrams, Coetherator inventor Heil Eugene Crum, and Dinshah P. Ghadiali, founder of the Spectro-Chrome Institute.

The "Quacks" category includes a link to other web sites that feature questionable medical practitioners.

Ephemera

The section of the web site titled "Ephemera" contains items donated to the museum by the American Medical Association as well as private individuals. Advertisements and old magazine graphics make up the bulk of the page's contents.

Further Reading

Links to further reading about most of the devices featured at the on line collection of the museum are provided. This site can easily take up a better part of an afternoon, so take your time and brace yourself for a long, strange trip into the history of questionable medical devices.