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All the United States Minnesota Saint Paul Museum of Quackery and Medical Frauds
AO Edited

Museum of Quackery and Medical Frauds

A museum within a museum, devoted to history's most questionable medical devices.

Saint Paul, Minnesota

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Rebekah Otto
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Electro-Metabograph   Wikimedia
  Andrew Kuchling/Flickr
  leiris202/Flickr
The shoe x-ray machine   museumofquackery.com
“Prostate Warmer” from 1918   museumofquackery.com
Radium and other radioactive “cures”   museumofquackery.com
Science Museum of Minnesota   Wikimedia
Auto Sweep Resonator   Andrew Kuchling/Flickr
Auto Sweep Resonator   Andrew Kuchling/Flickr
Allure bust developer   Andrew Kuchling/Flickr
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About

While technically this museum closed in 2002, thanks to the intrepid efforts of the Science Museum of Minnesota and curator and collector Bob McCoy, the collection lives on as the "Questionable Medical Device" collection in the Science Museum of Minnesota.

This collection of dubious medical devices reminds us that sometimes, medicine is best left to the doctors. Exhibits on display include a phrenological machine that gauges personality by measuring the size of bumps on the head and glasses and soap products designed for weight-loss.

You can still have your phrenology read by the fully functional machine today, and as the machine outlines the bumps on your skull, the phrenology reader "maps" intelligence, morality, and much more. Machines such as these were all the rage at State Fairs of the early 1900s, as were other questionable medical devices. The infomercials of their time, these snake oils and pseudoscience gadgets could cure impotence, tell how smart you were, and make you live forever.

Unfortunately, these contraptions were also often dangerous to the public that was tricked into using them. A depilatory machine removed unwanted hair with x-rays and ultimately caused cancer in the thousands of women who paid for the treatment. Another apparatus, used in shoe stores, allowed you to see your feet in your new shoes with an x-ray machine. How else could you tell if the shoes fit? The machine was declared unsafe by the FDA in 1970.

The museum's roots lie in a modern-day "phrenology parlor" started by Bob McCoy in the early 80s. Bob and his friend acquired a dozen or so phrenology machines and opened up shop in a waterfront mall in downtown Minneapolis. Demonstrating the machinery for a few bucks a pop, word soon spread about McCoy and his vintage devices.

McCoy continued to acquire additional pieces from garage sales and other collectors, and the exhibit now also holds exhibits on loan from The American Medical Association, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, The St. Louis Science Center, The Bakken Library, and The National Council Against Health Fraud. When McCoy retired, he donated his collection of more than 325 exhibits to the Science Museum of Minnesota.

The museum is currently the world's largest display of "what the human mind has devised to cure itself without the benefit of either scientific method or common sense."

Related Tags

Museums And Collections Medical Museums Museums Hoaxes Strange Science Collections Retro Tech Hoaxes And Pseudoscience

Know Before You Go

The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices is now located at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Go down to the 2nd floor, and look for the mezzinene. The vibrating chair will be easy to spot.

 

Community Contributors

Added By

Rebekah Otto

Edited By

littlebrumble, Len Jensen, mbison

  • littlebrumble
  • Len Jensen
  • mbison

Published

January 21, 2010

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Sources
  • http://www.museumofquackery.com/
  • http://www.smm.org/visit/collections/
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2133
  • http://www.planetware.com/minneapolis/museum-of-questionable-medical-dev...
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Questionable_Medical_Devices
  • http://washuu.net/Med-Lec/psycgraf.htm
  • As Curator of The Bakken, a Museum and Library of Electricity in Life, I helped Bob McCoy put his Museum together. I insisted he use the word "Questionable" because some of the items in his collection were legitimate, some evil and/or dangerous, and some -- questionable. Ellen Kuhfeld, PhD, http://washuu.net/Med-Lec/history.htm
Museum of Quackery and Medical Frauds
120 W Kellogg Boulevard
Saint Paul, Minnesota, 55102
United States
44.943492, -93.095661
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