Liquid Variable Resistor
This Bailey Current Controller was used to regulate the voltage between a battery and patient during therapeutic treatments. The “wings,” usually made of conductive carbon, can be lowered or raised into a liquid, such as salt water. By doing so, the amount of current applied to the body can be
Polygraph
A polygraph, commonly referred to as a lie detector, was designed to measure and record physiological responses of a person under different conditions. Starting in 1895 in Italy, it was used in criminology to determine if a suspect was telling the truth. Additional modifications were made over time and, in
Chiropractic Pills
This collection of pills and potions was collected by local chiropractor Thaddeus Liberko and donated to The Bakken Museum by his son, Earl. They come from the Dartell Laboratories vitamin supplement line. While herbs and vitamins in food have long been recognized for their positive effects on health, it was
Psychodiagnostic Plates
In 1917, Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach tested his inkblot system, comprised of five color inkblot cards and five black and white cards. As they were shown each card, 300 patients and 100 control subjects were asked to respond while Rorschach wrote down their answers. Afterward, he showed patients the cards
Leyden Jars
The Leyden jar was invented in Leyden, a city in the Netherlands, separately by two different men, German cleric Ewald Georg von Kleist and Dutch scientist Pieter van Musschenbroek in 1745. Leyden jars store and discharge static electricity for scientific experiments. They were also used in some of the first
Electro-cautery Radio Knife
Cauterization, first used in the 16th century, was a method of burning body parts, such as a blood vessels or open wounds to stop bleeding and close amputations. It was thought to prevent infection. In the modern era, doctors use electrocautery devices, which are not heated by fire but instead
Magneto
Magneto-electric machines like this were common in the second half of the 19th century. These easy-to-use machines were sold to doctors and the general public as a cure for pain and many other ailments. They produce periodic pulses of alternating current (AC), which are applied to the body. Early telephones
Electric Bath Patent Model
This is the original patent model for an Electro-Therapeutic Bathing Apparatus, invented by William W. Karshner. The patent was filed on January 25, 1859. After President George Washington established the first Patent Act, these miniature-scale models that showed how inventions worked were required by the United States Patent and Trade
Coolpate Forehead Cooler
This home remedy was popular in the early 20th century. “Light as a feather and cool as the coolest spring,” it was billed as being indispensable for “Brainworkers, Students, Sportsmen and Those Vocations That Place Its Workers Under a Mental Stress.” Supposedly, this product increased blood circulation in the head
Violet Ray
Before the turn of the 20th century, Nikola Tesla was interested in the medical applications of high-frequency electricity and patented several objects for such an application. One object was the violet ray generator that used various electrodes to send high-frequency electricity into the user’s body. The device was used to
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