Sex toys have existed much longer than you think

Since the rise of the Satisfyer, it seems like humanity has only recently discovered the usefulness of sex toys. For those who were already somewhat familiar with the world of toys, the Satisfyer is just a new addition to the assortment of all the different toys we have known for so long. Maybe I'm old, but I still remember hearing jokes about the Tarzan for the first time as a teenager (and I was immediately very shocked by the sight of that enormous device with protrusions). The last time I was looking for tea light holders made of rose quartz and limonite, well, you know how it goes, I suddenly came across the existence of a rose quartz dildo. I believe I was even more in shock than when I first saw a photo of the Tarzan, because who wants a stone in their flamoes?

Of course, it made me curious: how do people come up with the idea of using rose quartz as a sex toy? I quickly found out that it's not so crazy after all. In the timeline of sex toys, the stone is actually a vibrator avant la lettre. The oldest dildo that has been found is already 28,000 years old and is made of... stone. Quite remarkable that people 28,000 years ago already had a need for more orgasms than they got; I was actually under the impression that we must have been so animalistic back then that sex would be one of the first basic needs. The orgasm gap we talk about today is therefore as old as humanity itself!

Around 4000 BC, the Greeks were already writing about dildos. Women and men used dildos made of stone, leather, or wood, which they smeared with olive oil as a lubricant. The fact that we have always had a need for a good orgasm is confirmed by Dr. George Taylor, who invented the first vibrator in 1869. He did not recognize the female need for orgasms as a normal sex drive, but according to him, it was a disease, which he called ‘hysteria’. The only remedy was a treatment with the vibrator, which then still operated on steam power. Perhaps that was also the inspiration for the Satisfyer? But dildos and vibrators are of course not the only sex toys. Around the year 500, Geisha balls were already being used, and in the 1200s, they already had a first version of the cock ring in China. In short, it is one of the oldest human needs. Why should we pretend it's something embarrassing?