Dr. Scott’s Electric Tooth Charmer: A Magnetized Teething Toy
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In the late 19th century, Dr. George Augustus Scott (1842-1890), an Anglo-American businessman without formal medical training, capitalized on the public's fascination with electricity by marketing a range of so-called "electric" personal care devices, claiming they could cure ailments such as baldness and toothaches. Although Scott's products, including electric toothbrushes and hairbrushes, were not truly electric, they relied on the era's belief in electricity and magnetism as healing forces. His most intriguing invention, an example described in this paper, "Dr. Scott's Electric Tooth Charmer," was a magnetized teething toy for babies. Dr. Scott's relentless advertising and global reach made him successful, though his devices were eventually exposed as fraudulent. As interest in static magnetism waned, Scott's products fell out of favor.
Authors: Theodore P. Croll, Andrew I. Spielman, Ben Z. Swanson
Institutions: Case Western Reserve University, New York University
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4416786954
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