# Electricity applied in a "strictly scientific manner"

October 2, 2009

   ![Leah Berkenwald](/sites/default/files/styles/scale_crop_168x168/public/mediaobjects/avatar_150px.jpg?itok=AuB1wNve "Leah Berkenwald") 

 

 [ Leah Berkenwald ](/blog/author/leah-berkenwald)

 

 

I [recently began](/blog/americanjewesstweet) a fun Twitter project, tweeting tidbits from [*American Jewess*](/encyclopedia/article/american-jewessthe), the first English-language publication directed to American Jewish women (and this blog's namesake), edited by the original Jewess, [Rosa Sonneschein](/encyclopedia/article/sonneschein-rosa). Today I came across [this ad](http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=amjewess;cc=amjewess;rgn=full%20text;idno=taj1895.0002.001;didno=TAJ1895.0002.001;view=image;seq=00000002;node=taj1895.0002.001%3A2) 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](http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/metro.ssf?/base/news/1252743369276790.xml&coll=2).

You can follow [Rosa Sonneschein on Twitter](https://www.x.com/americanjewess) for more tidbits from *American Jewess*, learn about the [*American Jewess* research project](/research/americanjewess), or browse the October issue [here](http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=amjewess;cc=amjewess;idno=taj1895.0002.001;view=toc;node=taj1895.0002.001%3A2).



 

 

 0 Comments

  You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form.

 Your name  

 Email  The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly. 

 

 Comment 

 

[About text formats](/filter/tips)



- No HTML tags allowed.
- Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
- Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
 
 





 

 



 

 

Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.

[sign up now ](/signup)