Highly_paid_orgy_pro can blame Maggie Gyllenhaal and a sick day for the Reddit user’s interest in historic sex toys.

After the 20-something freelance management consultant and part-time party planner watched Hysteria, a 2011 movie starring Gyllenhaal about the invention of the vibrator and how it was used medically in the Victorian era, while home sick last year,

“I have always had a casual interest in medical quackery, so this film piqued my interest,” Highly_paid_orgy_pro, who lives in California, tells Upvoted. “After that, I just found that I enjoyed researching the origins of sex toys.”

For the past six months, he’s been sharing his newfound hobby of researching dildos, vibrators, and other erotic apparatus with others thanks to a Reddit community he started.

“One day, the the phrase ‘historical buttplugs’ randomly popped in my mind when researching the origins of the cock ring (of all things!),” he says. “I thought it would be a good ‘banner’ under which I could gather my research on Reddit, so I created /r/historicalbuttplugs.”

An Appreciation for the Dildo

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“I am constantly amazed at how far back the history of the dildo stretches back,” Highly_paid_orgy_pro said. “Analogues of the penis are as old as human history itself. I find it incredible that the human fascination with sex and masturbation transcend time.”

Some of the phallus facts Highly_paid_orgy_pro has learned recently:

Dildos made almost 30,000 years ago have been found in German territories.

Stone, tar, lacquered wood, and even dried camel dung have been used to make dildos.

A depiction of dildo use on a Greek vase from the 5th century BCE shows a woman inserting one phallus in her mouth and another in her vagina simultaneously.

In fact, this collection of dildo knowledge has expanded his view of the device and its cultural effect over the years.

“Since the old days, the phallus has been considered to be a symbol of power. That is why first dildos were used as sacred objects. However, with the course of time, their role in sexual culture changed. “I think it can be said that the moment when the dildo stopped to be a sacred object and became the device for getting sexual pleasure was the beginning of sex industry. As such, the role of the dildo in sexual life cannot be overestimated. The dildo is the device that helps people to vary their sex life, to experience new sensations and to examine the body in order to find out more about their own sexual response.”

Variety of Vibrator Design

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One the Reddit user’s favorite discoveries is all the unique designs vibrators have incorporated throughout their existence, especially in the early 20th century.

“I love the art deco look of vibrations from the early 1900s,” he said.

Birth of the Butt Plug

If Highly_paid_orgy_pro had to choose a favorite sex toy, however, it would be—appropriately enough—Dr. Young’s rectal dilators.

“In my opinion, these are the first example of the contemporary butt plug design we know today,” he says.

This rectal dilator was invented in the late 1800s, and they were touted as an insanity cure and as a way to treat constipation before being viewed as a tool for sexual pleasure, according to Highly_paid_orgy_pro. But the device’s day in the sun would not last.

However, people soon discovered another use, sexual pleasure!