The problem of Hysteria in Victorian women and the invention of the vibrator.

Being a woman in the Victorian era was very stifling indeed, first a young girl was not educated on anything but being a proper housewife and mother, and nothing else. There was very few options for a young woman to begin with. If you were not married, you either worked for low wages as a governess (nanny), scullery maid, or in a brothel. The age of consent for a girl to marry was between 10-13 years old (or a lad, but mostly girls) and once she is married the girl basically the property of her husband and totally subjected to him, as her sole role was is to be a mother and wife.

Under the code of “Victorian Morality” she was not to enjoy sex with her husband for pleasure (his or hers), but was expected to only have intercourse with her husband to produce an heir, and actually she was to discourage any kind of intimate physical contact with her husband. However the women’s fashions of the time was designed to be pleasing to the eye’s of men, yet also by design to be very restrictive for any kind of work, and torturously  uncomfortable.

“The fashion of the time included the baroque bonnet, high heels, large skirts, and corsets all of which proved the impracticality of doing any task. The important image of beauty as by defined by soft hands, porcelain complexion, and dainty feet kept women in the household outside of the sun’s rays, and in the visually appealing clothing that served no purpose outside of of emphasizing an image of sexiness to men” (Harrison 34-7).

This static existence of women, and the lack of sexual attention from their husbands led to extreme sexual tension, which in the 1800’s was diagnosed as “Hysteria” which was classified as a “womb disease” by Victorian doctors, who never clearly defined the true cause of this “disease” that upper class Victorian women seemed to be suffering from.

Since hysteria was a so called chronic disease, a short term treatment was developed to deal with this affliction of females. Women would go for treatment to a doctors office, the procedure was called “pelvic message” so that the woman could reach “paroxysm” to relive the poor sick woman.

However messaging a woman’s lower supine lumbar was time consuming and hard work, it could take hours for a patient to reach “paroxysm”, so in 1870 the very first vibrators were invented for physicians to use on their patients.

Across the pond in America, a company by the name of Hamilton Beach started selling the first manual vibrators for women to use at home in 1902, and what was originally strictly a medical office treatment was now available for women to enjoy at home in private, while their husbands spend time at the brothel.

Exploring the views thoughts and mannerisms of sexual behavior in the late 19th century England, Known as the Victorian Era. The Victorian period in England spans from 1837 to 1901 under the reign of Queen Victoria. With Victorians generally considered narrow minded, prudish and stuffy. Sexuality was being overtly suppressed in this era, and how it affected the values and conventions of the time in English society, and how this gave rise to the underground sexual element in print, and practice, as well as the psychology of sex, and how doctor’s , and citizens coped with the libido of the time.

The Victorian era is known as the reign of Queen Victoria, which started on June 20th 1837 and ended on January 22nd 1901 with her death. This was considered by the English to have been a very lengthy period of very high refined sensibilities along with prosperity and peace for Great Britain. In fact Victorian England was thought to be an era of confidence for the British Empire.

There was also a great cultural shift from the previous era of rationalism which was known as the Gregorian era, and moved as far as the arts, social values and spirituality embraced “Romanticism and Mysticism”. However in the Victorian period there was this all-pervading morale climate known as the “Victorian Morality”, a stringent set of morale-social behavior and sexual restraint, which was viewed hypocritical by many back then and today; citing the proliferating morale dignity and refined restraint along -side such social phenomena such as child labor and prostitution.

Victorian men and women who were married had to undress behind screens, for doing so in front of  their spouses was considered taboo, but at the beach, everybody went fully nude which was the norm.

There were over 9,000 prostitutes in London, so society turned a blind eye, as women were 2nd class citizens , that is unless you were part of the nobility, but women were still not allowed to vote.  Women working at a house of “ill repute” were looked upon as “fallen ladies”, but the husbands of respectable wives was still employing them  as married woman were encouraged not to have sex with their husbands except for procreation, and there was nothing a wife could do, as “Victorian law didn’t allow women to get divorced for adultery, unless cruelty could be proven in court.

I had the distinguished honor of attending the 2nd annual Halloween Masquerade Ball as a “Royal VIP Guest”. It was billed as “A Sexy Venetian Carnival Affair” which has become one of the most popular NYC Halloween events. This “debaucherous Venetian Masquerade Ball”, was modeled in the spirit of Stanley Kubrick’s “EYES WIDE SHUT” film w/ Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman; Which I must say is very sexy indeed!

Held this year at the enormous Stage 48 venue (the largest event space in Manhattan), with three gigantic floors of seduction, sexiness and mystery! I was enamored with the spirit and willingness of all the guest who attended, as just about everyone there was very much into it, and dressed the part.

On the four corners of the main dance floor, pillared platforms of sexy “masked Go-Go” dancers got the crowd moving and shaking in the most fun and salacious way. This event was so bloody sexy, I too had to dance with wild abandon with these sexy and well dressed masked strangers, who were ever willing to have a sophisticated and sexy good time.

I must say that the coolest of the cool of New York’s Cafe’ society came out to pay homage to the theme of night, “Eye’s Wide Shut”.

“Back in 1292, the original purpose of the Carnival of Venice was to serve as an excuse for people of different …social classes to mingle and indulge in behaviors that might be otherwise deemed questionable, if not downright salacious.

The custom of wearing masks developed to protect the identity of the Carnival participants and empowering them anonymous freedom to partake in their most intimate of fantasies and desires.”

“The point of THE MASQUERADE BALL is to provide a sexy evening of ‘mystique’ & ‘playfulness’ for you and your friends to experience the freedom of anonymity behind the mask, leaving your inhibitions behind, and setting your wildest fantasies free. So get in the playful, adventurous Venetian spirit and prepare for what is sure to be one of the most unforgettable & most tantalizing experiences of your lives…”

And the Elegant Classy Gentleman was there, and THE MASQUERADE BALL was all that it promised………and More! Five thumbs up for this event.

While taking a break from my medical and psychological studies, I resolved myself to engage in one of my long time hobbies, Time Travel. To some it is only the stuff of science fiction, while to others, it’s a scientific fact, so say the quantum physicists. Then there is the fringe chronological scientists, that claim time travel has been going on for a long…..time?

Now let me explain. I have since I was about 14 years old a huge fan of Nikola Tesla, the man who had not only the genius and the engineering skill to build such remarkable and futuristic devices. And another more well know genius, Albert Einstein, father of our quantum physics. Now these two men of tomorrow was the brains behind a military secret program, better known as the Philadelphia Experiment.

This program, also called “project rainbow” was an “experiment conducted upon a small destroyer escort ship during World War II, both in the Philadelphia Naval Yard and at sea; the goal was to make that ship invisible to enemy detection. The accounts vary as to whether the original idea was to achieve invisibility to enemy radar or whether the prize sought after was more profound: optical invisibility. Either way, it is commonly believed that the mechanism involved was the generation of an incredibly intense magnetic field around the ship, which would cause refraction or bending of light or radar waves around the ship, much like a mirage created by heated air over a road on a summer day. The experiment was a complete success… except that the ship actually disappeared physically for a time, and then returned. They wanted to “cloak” the ship from view, but they got de-materialization and teleportation instead..

It has been claimed that the Philadelphia Experiment was partly an investigation into how Albert Einstein’s “Unified Field Theory for Gravitation and Electricity” might be used to advantage in the development of electronic camouflage for ships at sea. Einstein allegedly published his Unified Theory around 1925-27 in German, in a Prussian scientific journal, but it was later withdrawn as incomplete. This research was aimed at using intense electromagnetic fields to mask a ship from incoming projectiles, mainly torpedoes. This was later extended to include a study of creating radar invisibility by a similar field in the air rather than in the water.

The story begins in June of 1943, with the U.S.S. Eldridge, DE (Destroyer Escort) 173, being fitted with tons of experimental electronic equipment. This included, according to one source, two massive generators of 75 KVA each, (Tesla Coils) mounted where the forward gun turret would have been, distributing their power through four magnetic coils mounted on the deck. Three RF transmitters (2 megawatt CW each, mounted on the deck), three thousand ‘6L6’ power amplifier tubes (used to drive the field coils of the two generators), special synchronizing and modulation circuits, and a host of other specialized hardware were employed to generate massive electromagnetic fields which, when properly configured, would be able to bend light and radio waves around the ship, thus making it invisible to enemy observers.

The experiment, said to have taken place at the Philadelphia Naval Yard and also at sea, took place on at least one occasion while in full view of the Merchant Marine ship S.S. Andrew Furuseth, and other observation ships. The Andrew Furuseth becomes significant because one of its crewmen is the source of most of the original material making up the PX legend. Carlos Allende, a.k.a. Carl Allen, wrote a series of strange letters to one Dr. Morris K. Jessup in the 1950’s in which he described what he claims to have witnessed: at least one of the several phases of the Philadelphia Experiment.

At 0900 hours, on July 22nd, 1943, the power to the generators was turned on, and the massive electromagnetic fields started to build up. A greenish fog was seen to slowly envelop the ship, concealing it from view. Then the fog itself is said to have disappeared, taking the Eldridge with it, leaving only undisturbed water where the ship had been anchored only moments before.

The elite officers of the Navy and scientists involved gazed in awe at their greatest achievement: the ship and crew were not only radar invisible but invisible to the eye as well! Everything worked as planned, and about fifteen minutes later they ordered the men to shut down the generators. The greenish fog slowly reappeared, and the Eldridge began to de-materialize as the fog subsided, but it was evident to all that something had gone wrong.

When boarded by personnel from shore, the crew above deck were found to be disoriented and nauseous. The Navy removed the crew, and shortly after obtained another. In the end, the Navy decided that they only wanted radar invisibility, and the equipment was altered.

On the 28th of October in 1943, at 17:15, the final test on the Eldridge was performed. The electromagnetic field generators were turned on again, and the Eldridge became near-invisible; only a faint outline of the hull remained visible in the water. Everything was fine for the first few seconds, and then, in a blinding blue flash, the ship completely vanished. Within seconds it reappeared miles away, in Norfolk, Virginia, and was seen for several minutes. The Eldridge then disappeared from Norfolk as mysteriously as it had arrived, and reappeared back in Philadelphia Naval Yard. This time most of the sailors were violently sick. Some of the crew were simply “missing” never to return. Some went crazy, but, strangest of all, five men were fused to the metal in the ship’s structure.

The men that survived were never the same again. Those that lived were discharged as “mentally unfit” for duty, regardless of their true condition.

So, what had begun as an experiment in electronic camouflage, ended up as an accidental teleportation of an entire ship and crew, to a distant location and back again, all in a matter of minutes!

Although the above may seem fantastic, one must remember, that in the 1940’s the atomic bomb was also being invented.”

So for many years I had obtained plans, schematic diagrams of Tesla Coils and other such devices. Later on I found a Research and Development Scientific company out of state that could custom build such devices, to my specifications! 😉

Yes it was expensive, but affordable due to the fact that I had each module made over time and completed my project slowly while working out the details. And yes you have to be a nerd of a very high magnitude to engage in such hobbies, but I was not alone. Two trusted people who share my ideas was brought on board, one a medical doctor, the other a PhD (it would be fun they said), of course we worked in secret. So one person would keep my cellular metabolism intact, while monitoring my vitals, while Dr. H, she would make sure that I got back, or come after me if I didn’t, at least.  So while these two manning the master device at the lab, I would hop around two or three months into the future or past (I was to chickenshit to do any more than that) I had the portable device to move forward and backward in time, small enough to fit in my cigarette pack.

I may have gotten a little ahead of myself. Let me explain a bit on the theory of time.

Time Theory:

Quantum mechanics of time travel:

No-communication theorem

When a signal is sent from one location and received at another location, then as long as the signal is moving at the speed of light or slower, the mathematics of simultaneity in the theory of relativity show that all reference frames agree that the transmission-event happened before the reception-event. When the signal travels faster than light, it is received before it is sent, in all reference frames. The signal could be said to have moved backward in time. This hypothetical scenario is sometimes referred to as a tachyonic antitelephone.

Quantum-mechanical phenomena such as quantum teleportation, the EPR paradox, or quantum entanglement might appear to create a mechanism that allows for faster-than-light (FTL) communication or time travel, and in fact some interpretations of quantum mechanics such as the Bohm interpretation presume that some information is being exchanged between particles instantaneously in order to maintain correlations between particles. This effect was referred to as “spooky action at a distance” by Einstein.

Interacting many-worlds interpretation:

A variation of Everett’s many-worlds interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics provides a resolution to the grandfather paradox that involves the time traveler arriving in a different universe than the one they came from; it’s been argued that since the traveler arrives in a different universe’s history and not their own history, this is not “genuine” time travel. The accepted many-worlds interpretation suggests that all possible quantum events can occur in mutually exclusive histories. However, some variations allow different universes to interact. This concept is most often used in science-fiction, but some physicists such as David Deutsch have suggested that a time traveler should end up in a different history than the one he started from. On the other hand, Stephen Hawking has argued that even if the MWI is correct, we should expect each time traveler to experience a single self-consistent history, so that time travelers remain within their own world rather than traveling to a different one.

OK, I’m losing you now, let me tell you what happened, or did happen, or is happening. So I went to one of Amanda Holley’s pop up shows, in June but here’s the thing, I missed the show in the past, so I traveled from the future to attend the event and took photos and some video footage for a future article?

So, I’m there with my buddy Ralph Cooper, and the lovely Amanda, not missing a thing. But my camera’s time stamp is recording the date and time from my future self time line. I tried to adjust and change the time stamp, but it would not change, no matter how many times I tried it.

Had a great time as always. Now knowing that while my future self is occupying the past, my past self is in time space in the future timeline. Now what I did not expect is that instead of just popping back to my proper place in time, I slowly shifted back a day or two into the past toward my proper timeline, and my past self did the same concurrently, using the present time as a nexus betwixt the two?

Now I know the past, present and future happen at the same time (concurrently), but at no time did I enter Absolute Time which is a perpetual present, where future and past my be viewed from a single point. (I wont go into details about the time singularity).  So was my device not working properly?

So I tried to calibrate it and just “pop” back to my present (timeline), but I ended up over shooting to a week before Christmas! I tried than to even it out and go back to September, and caught up with some friends at Fashion Week.

After making some adjustments and having a few Chardonnay’s I got back the signal to the time current in the ether to the mother device.

Now I just have to wait a couple of days to return to my correct present, slipping through the timeline. But how will I know for sure when “tomorrow is yesterday”?

The nervous system is made up of 2 types of cells, the gila and neurons. Gila cells gets it’s name from the Greek word for “glue”, as they provide structural support for neurons. The neurons function is processing communication and information. Both the neurons and gila work together to facilitate nervous system functions. The gila is classified by size. The largest are the macrogila, and the smaller one called microgila.  The macrogila are broken down into three types: astrocytes, oligdendrocytes, and Schwann cells which make up the myelin insulating covering of the axon fibers, made of proteins. Microgila functions as the brains clean up mechanism. when at rest these cells probe out with there branches to detect molecules that can cause cell damage from injury, a stroke or any other source that is damaging, the tiny cells of microgila move to the location of the injury and digest the damaging debris.

Astrocytes have several support functions, while having  a close association with the blood stream by means of the capillaries. these cells or star shaped hence the name astro (meaning star) which provide structural support, regulation of the extracellular chemical environment at the synapse, as well as insolation of the synapse. Oligodendrocytes provide strucural support by  means of forming mylin on axions. Schwann cells form the mylin on the axions in the peripheral nervous system. Neurons are cells that specialize in processing information and communication of the nervous system.

The Structure of Neurons: 

Neurons differ somewhat structurally from other cells as they have extending branches protruding from their cell body which are the axions and dendrites that are used to communicate with other cells. Axions carry signals to other cells. The structural support of the neuron is provided by the cytoskeleton, which is a network of filaments that provides the internal structure of the neuron.

Dendrites: 

Many dendrites (Greek for tree) which serve as locations in which information from other neurons are received. At each synapse on a dendrite,  ligand-gated ion channels operate as receptor sites within the the neural membrane which interact with neurotransmitter molecules released by nearby neurons that float across the synaptic gap, a fluid filled space between the receiving and transmitting neurons.

Axion:

Most of the neurons have many number of branches called dendrites, but usually have only on axion, which is responsible for carrying signals and messages to other neurons. The axion hillock which is a cone shaped segment of the axion at the junction of the axion and cell body (soma). Action Potentials (electrical signals) rise in the axion hillock and fire down the length of axion.

Being single and unmarried in an urban setting such as New York has many advantages, such as not having a significant other to answer to or worrying about getting home at a certain hour, in short there are no rules but your own.  Living independence and autonomy is the name of the game here.  Being male and single is important to many, as we are not “Tied Down” and can pursue our hobbies and interests at our own leisure without the hassle of relationships.

Males who are single by choice like myself, have a mental well-being much better than if in a relationship.  While the myths of men who choose the single life, such as being self-centered, lonely, and that we just don’t care for others, is simply false. There are many friends and acquaintances that we care about and respect very much.  One of the stereotypes of single people is that they are afraid of commitment, which is not the case, many single men show great commitment to their work, studies, organizations, and hobbies.

We live in a society that teaches us that we must get married by a certain age, and if we don’t than we have failed in something, marriage is not for everyone. While female companionship is nice on a short term basis, and having “open relationships” can work out quite well. Cohabitation is fine if the freedom to pursue and fulfill our own lifestyle, are not infringed upon.

Freedom and independence is of the utmost importance for such men. Being married is not what society has led us to believe, which is why the divorce rate is 50% in the U.S. Having two or more intimate female partners can be just as fulfilling, than a contemporary marriage, not to imply that marriage for some is not.

Cohabitation has become more widespread in the U.S. than ever before, as well as being more accepted.  As an alternative to marriage cohabitation is more suited for the type of male that enjoys being single, if the situation does not work out, than there is less mess and clutter to deal with.

Being single and unmarried for some can be a great lifestyle for those gentlemen who prefer their freedom and independence, and choose to live life on their own terms.

Biological Psychology/Behavioral Neuroscience is the study of the human nervous system and the brain, in both homeostatic and pathological states. Biological neuroscientists try to get a broad understanding of the brains functions and how it translates to human thought processes and behavior. By working up from the Molecular-Cellular-Synaptic-Network-Behavioral levels in the nervous system the neuroscientist tracks the process from the DNA and RNA along with the gene expressions which produce proteins from polypeptide chains.

As far back as 7,000 years ago human skulls have been found with evidence of brain surgery. These ancient skulls had holes drilled in them, a technique known as “Trepanation”, and many of these skulls have been shown to have healing around the holes after receiving this procedure, suggesting that many patients survived this crude surgery in ancient times.

An ancient Egyptian text known as “The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus” which may be the oldest known medical journal in the world set forth many sophisticated observations about the nervous system, such as the absence of sensation in the human body, or paralysis was due to damage to the nerves, and listed in the text that these “conditions” were not to be treated, suggesting an understanding that damage was permanent. Greek scholars who studied the Egyptian medical journal in the 4^th century put forth that the human brain was the seat of sensation. While Hippocrates correctly stated that epilepsy had its origin in the brain. In the 16^th and 17^th century in France, Rene Descartes put forward the perspective of “Mind-Body Dualism” which states that the mind is separate (nonphysical) and the body is mechanistic.

(The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus)

In the 20^th century scientist like Camillo Golgi supported the idea that the nervous system was a vast array of interconnected network of fibers, and Santiago Ramon y Cajal set forth that the nervous system was constructed of separate and independent cells, and his concept was known as the “Neuron Doctrine”.

Luigi Galvani experimented with frogs in a laboratory in his basement in which he demonstrated that electricity played a role in neural communication.

Other scientists, though respectable, like Franz Josef Gall and Johann Gasper Spurzheim in the 18^th and 19^th century was misguided when they put forth the science of “Phrenology”, in which they thought (in error) that the bumps on someone’s head could be used to correlate an individual’s personality and natural abilities. A bust of a human head was a guide which showed the location of the particular “trait” on the head, which is an example of very bad science.

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