Electricity

            In this article I will focus on the therapeutic use of electricity.  Unlike the use of magnetic energy for healing, the main attraction of electricity was that it could be felt.  Therefore, something must be happening (kind of like the burn from Listerine which “kills” the germs).  Electricity as a cure had its beginnings when stories circulated of electric shocks curing pain or successfully resuscitating people.  In 1802, Galvani conducted an experiment showing muscle contraction when electricity was generated between a copper and iron wire.  In 1803, a British professor by the name of Aldini applied electrodes to the body of a hanged murderer after the criminal had been dead for an hour.  When electricity was delivered to the electrodes witnesses saw his jaw quiver, his eye open and his hand clench giving the appearance of re-animation.  It is thought that these early experiments, along with the rise of body snatching (for those who have heard my talk on this subject), gave Mary Shelley the inspiration for her 1818 book Frankenstein.

            Attempts at harnessing this energy resulted in the sale of personal electricity generators.  One of the earliest devices was the Davis Kidder Magneto manufactured in 1854.  A hand crank generated an electric flow to the electrodes.  One rectangular electrode was placed on the area to be treated while the patient held two other cylindrical electrodes in his hands.  The electricity would flow between the two electrodes.  With the advent in the 1880s of dry cell batteries, these devices evolved into “battery boxes”. 

            Along with legitimate uses of electricity such as in cardiac resuscitations, these devices were being used for cramps, nervous cough, hysteria and hair loss.  Various attachments facilitated the concentration of the electricity onto the affected area.  These attachments included electric hair brushes, temple sponges, rollers, foot plates and handles for others to provide electrically-charged massages.  In the early 1900s electric belts became all the rage including the Heidelberg Alternating Current Electric Belt sold by Sears.  The early belts simply contained a copper disc in the front and two to four nickel discs in the back and were activated by the body’s inherent electricity.  Eventually dry cells were inserted into the belts to provide a greater ability to heal.  They had names such as The Dr. Lorenz Electro Body Batteries, The Dr. Bell Electro Appliance and The Electra-Vita Body Battery.

            As with many old therapies, the use of electricity sounds silly now, but people continue to be convinced of the dubious benefits of these devices.  I remember one gadget in particular.  In the mid-1990s Evel Knievel appeared on commercials touting the benefits of a handheld instrument called the Stimulator.  By depressing a red button while holding it against the affected area a shock would be generated that had the ability to cure carpal tunnel, arthritis or menstrual cramps.  As it turns out this magical device was actually a gas grill lighter which cost the Akron, Ohio based company $1 to make but was sold for $88.30!  The FDA seized their inventory in 1995 forcing them to close but not before nearly 800,000 Stimulators were sold.

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1.  Galvani's Experiment   2.  Mary Shelley's Frankenstein   3.  Davis Kidder Magneto   4.  Heidelberg Battery Belt   5.  Evel Knievel   6.  The Stimulator