Humans have been inventing ways to enhance their pleasure and satisfy their desires for millenniums. From ancient artifacts to modern innovations, the world of sex toys has certainly changed. Let’s go on a journey through history and look at sex toy inventions. Finally how to choose the best sex toy for you, and reveal the greatest sex toy invention of all time.
A Brief History of Sex Toy Inventions
Ancient Civilizations
The history of sex toys dates back thousands of years, and found in ancient civilizations. A jade and bronze butt plug was discovered in a king’s tomb near modern-day Shanghai, approximately 2,000 years ago from the Han Dynasty. Researchers believe that these items were used to seal orifices in corpses and maintain the body’s chi (life force and energy), rather than for sexual purposes.
In Ancient Greece, soldier used bread dildos as a sexual aid, reflecting their open attitude towards pleasure. In ancient China, cock rings made from goat eyelids, jade, and ivory were symbols of royalty, used to enhance sexual performance.
The Victorian Era
The Victorian era saw significant advancements in sex toy inventions, largely driven by medical professionals seeking to treat female “hysteria.” In the 1860s, the steam-powered Manipulator was invented by American physician George Taylor as a hand-crank vibrator, designed to alleviate hysteria in women. Not created with the female orgasm in mind, but rather to ease what was considered sexual mental frustration at the time.
By the 1880s, more advanced hand-crank vibrators like Macaura’s Pulsocon Hand Vibrator were created, capable of delivering up to 5,000 vibrations per minute. These vibrators were marketed as cures for female hysteria.
The 20th Century and Beyond
During the 20th Century the development of sex toys became more innovative. In the 1920s, the Polar Cub Electric Vibrator featured an attractive design and a textured knob for various pleasurable sensations. The 1930s saw the invention of the Andis Vibrator, which was marketed for both men and women as a beauty and health tool.
In the 1970s, the Hitachi Magic Wand gained popularity as a powerful massager that could also be used for sexual pleasure. Fast forward to the 1980s, the iconic Rabbit vibrator was invented by Shay Martin and the ladies at Vibratex, providing both penetration and clitoral stimulation.
Countless new sex toy inventions have emerged since then, catering to various preferences, genders, and desires.
What to Look for in a Sex Toy
When choosing the best sex toy, there are several factors to take into consideration:
Body-Safe Materials:
Ensure that the material of the sex toy is non-porous, such as silicone, glass, or wood. Do thorough research to verify that the materials are, in fact, body-safe.
Your Preferences:
Explore what excites you and where you feel it in your body. There is no universal “magic bullet” for everyone, so choose a sex toy that aligns with your desires.
Design:
Consider the design of the sex toy, whether it resembles a phallus or not. Modern sex toys are designed with anatomy in mind, often providing a more comfortable experience.
Lubrication:
Using a good quality lubricant can enhance your experience with a sex toy. Water-based lubricants are recommended as they won’t interfere with the material of the toy.
Reviews and Recommendations:
Communicate with sex toy bloggers and read reviews. These experts can provide valuable insights and help you choose a sex toy that suits your needs.
The Best Sex Toy Inventions
Based on our research, here are some of the best sex toy inventions of all time:
The Rabbit Vibrator:
This iconic sex toy, invented by Shay Martin and the ladies at Vibratex, provides both penetration and clitoral stimulation, making it a favorite among many.
The Hitachi Magic Wand:
A versatile and powerful massager that can also be used for clitoral stimulation, the Hitachi Magic Wand has earned its reputation as the “Cadillac of Vibrators.”
Vixen Creations Nexus:
One of the first strapless dildos ever made, the Nexus is ideal for women who love women or those who enjoy double dildos.
Dame Products Eva:
As one of the only sex toys that offer hands-free clitoral stimulation, the Eva Rechargeable Vibrator is a popular choice for beginners and experts alike.
The Womanizer:
This revolutionary sex toy uses Pleasure Air Technology for clitoral stimulation without contact, bridging the orgasm disparity between men and women.
Adult Sex Toy Reviews
The global sex toy industry is booming, and research suggests that almost half of the British population admit to owning at least one sex toy. It is not wonder that sex toy review is so popular. As well as being great for enhancing masturbation, they are great for couples who are looking to spice up their sex life by exploring new sensations in the bedroom.
Additional pleasure is a given, regularly using sex toys is also shown to help offer health and wellbeing benefits. The more you explore your body and experiment with toys, the more likely you are to know how to stimulate your body. Whether you’re solo or with a partner. When you know the ins and outs of your body, you gain an appreciation for it. Knowing exactly what to communicate to your partner to make you more confident in the bedroom.
Using sex toys is also great for those who struggle to sleep, leaving them feeling irritable, unmotivated and lacking energy the next day. Sex and masturbation can assist with insomnia and restlessness, releasing oxytocin and endorphins. This helps people feel calm and experience less stress. Both men and women report better sleep after incorporating masturbation or sexual activity into their night-time routine. It also strengthening the immune systems, keeping cognitive activity up to par, lowering depression and anxiety, and increasing the libido.
Sex Toy Review
Couples who incorporate variety in the bedroom are more likely to stay together long-term and be open and honest about their desires. When we open ourselves up to new experiences. It evokes better communication between partners which is essential to relationship satisfaction and overall health of a partnership. Sex toys are a safe and reliable way to keep things spicy in bed. they help keep the spark alive and injecting some excitement back into a long-term relationship.
Browsing an online adult store should be a fun experience while you fantasise about all of the endless pleasure-inducing possibilities. For beginners to sex toys, starting with more common toys like vibrating eggs, dildos, cock rings, and vibrators is a recommended approach. Experimenting with the new sensations and establishing any likes or dislikes.
Once more comfortable with using sex toys in the bedroom, more adventurous approaches can be taken to bring the pleasure to new levels. From anal play to BDSM and fetishes to role play, there are a vast number of products on the market which are catered to different sexual desires.
With the end goal being to arouse your senses and ignite the passion in partnered or solo stimulation, using sex toys as liberators of all sexual preferences, kinks and tastes. They will help satisfy needs and bring couples closer together than ever before.
Sexual Performance
As well as being great for pleasure and exploration, sex toys can actually improve sexual performance. Often being used to practice longevity, training the body to last longer before ejaculation. This means pleasure can be maximised to elongate the fun for both them and their partner. Sex toys can also lend a helping hand when it comes to sexual dysfunction. Helping both men and women can learn to make themselves climax through the use of toys while masturbating.
Sex toys will give you more confidence in reaching orgasm with a partner.
Sex Toy Materials
Do you know what your sex toys are made of? No? Me either. I never paid much attention to sex toy materials; honestly I spent more time thinking about the colour. But now as my sex toy education continues I am learning that what your toy is made of it almost as important as what it does.
Potentially Unsafe and Unregulated
Unfortunately the sex toy game is widely unregulated, hence the “sold as novelty only” stickers on most toy packaging. Because of this, a sex toy manufacturer doesn’t have to be particular about what goes into their toy meaning that there could be potentially harmful or unsafe materials contained inside the toy.
An example of one of these unsafe materials is plastic containing phthalates previously being used in the production of adult toys. Phthalates for those of us who aren’t scientists is something that can be added to the plastic generally to make it softer and feel more real. The problem with phthalates is that is has been proven to have really strong links between some types of cancer and even birth defects. Phthalates have been banned for all children’s toy manufacturing, but because of lack of regulations it has yet to be banned from adult toys.
Quality Increases Pleasure and Safety
Look at it this way, the sex toy you purchase is going inside your body and because of that you owe it to yourself to firstly be informed about the toys make-up and materials but secondly when purchasing a new toy, you owe it to yourself to get the quality item, if for no other reason than your safety. I’m going to break down the most common materials used in the making of sex toys, I will give you some information about them so you can make informed choices and finally I will throw in a few recommendations your way so when it comes time to buy a quality product you know what you should be on the lookout for.
The Good – Sex Toy Materials
Silicone
These toys are the goal. Silicone is one of the best materials for sex toys because it is non porous (so it can’t harbour any bacteria or germs), easy to sterilise, incredibly soft and is a great material for transferring vibrations (meaning you will have a quieter and more effective toy). Silicone toys with proper care and treatment (regular cleaning, proper charging or battery care, storing it correctly) can last a very long time, so even though silicone toys generally sit at a higher price point it can work out cheaper in the long run to make the investment.
Think of the cost of replacing a $50 vibrator twice a year for 5 years, that adds up to $500. A single silicone toy could easily last you longer than that and you would be having a better experience with the silicone toy during that time than you would with the cheaper ones.
Silicone Toy Recommendation: The Rabbit Company The Kissing Rabbit
Glass
In my opinion the most beautiful toys are made from glass. Amazing shapes, colours and textures can be made from glass which is a great material for sex toys. Like silicone, glass is non porous which makes it easy to keep clean as it doesn’t have anywhere for germs or bacteria to hide, glass can also withstand both high heats and low colds which makes it a great toy for temperature play. Glass sex toys are not as fragile as people think. They are normally either hand blown, which mean much attention has been paid to strength or they can be made from Pyrex, yes Pyrex that unbreakable stuff that mum’s baking tray is made out of.
Glass Toy Recommendation: Icicles No 12 Hand-blown Rose Glass Dildo
Stone And Wood
Yes seriously and as long as they are finished correctly they can be a great safe and clean material for your toy.
Wooden Toy Recommendation: Treezez Wooden Butt Plug
ABS Hard Plastic
This material is slightly falling out of favour for the more real feel options (more on those later) but ABS hard plastic still remains a great option for a sex toy material. It is non porous and easy to sterilise. I love ABS plastic for bullets as it can provide a welcome firmness when held in the right spot.
ABS Hard Plastic Toy Recommendation: We-Vibe Tango
The Problematic – Sex Toy Materials
TPE/Elastomer
Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) is a soft type of plastic that is durable and should be phthalate free. The issues with this material is that it is porous which makes it hard to clean and sterilise. This becomes a massive issue for cleanliness and hygiene as removing all bacteria from these toys can be very difficult. If you are sharing a toy made from this material it becomes more risky again because of cross contamination.
There are stories of people catching or becoming reinfected with an STI because of poorly cleaned TPE toys. An antibacterial toy cleaner is required for these toys. The reason is, that it would take 5 minutes of “just running it under water with some soap” to get the toy anywhere near as clean as one spray of toy cleaner. Also some soaps can cause thrush, anti-bacterial toy cleaners do not do this.
Genuine Feel Rubber (CyberSkin, UR3, Real Feel etc)
Sex toys made with this material are difficult. On one hand they feel amazing, this material will give you the closest experience to the real thing and that’s why it is becoming very popular. We run into issues again with the cleanliness. Genuine Feel Rubber is porous and prone to tears which can be breeding grounds for germs and bacteria.
You must use a toy cleaner with this type of toy. You must also pay special attention to the drying of this toy. Genuine feel rubber is often used for masturbators and these are toys that are designed to be tight fitting around the penis, because of this after cleaning you must turn the toy inside out to allow it to dry. Also think of investing in some renewing powder for the toy, it will help dry it and keep it feeling like new.
Jelly Toys
These are some of the most problematic toys out on the market today. Because sex toy manufacturers aren’t very open with their exact plastic recipe (to keep it from competitors etc) it is hard to know what is actually in these toys. Some have been found to contain phthalates and due to the nature of these materials they are in a kind of slow state of decomposition meaning that unless you are sure what they contain this can be a risky option.
Jelly toys are very hard to clean, extremely porous and it is recommended that with these toys you use a condom. Many adult stores refuse to sell jelly toys because of their potential dangers.
When buying a toy it makes good sense to pay extra attention to what it is made out of. My best tip to avoid anything potentially harmful is to go to a reputable adult store (like Oh! Zone Adult Lifestyle Centres) and their trained staff will be able to walk you through the options and provide you with more information.
Author: Jamie is a consultant from Oh Zone Adult Lifestyle Centres
Leave a Reply