A Roman sewing tool... or something rather different?

Sam takes a tongue-in-cheek museum tour through the history of the dildo: an ambiguous Roman carving, ancient Greek pottery, an eighteenth-century ivory object and Japanese woodcuts. Along the way, we discover why a familiar shape isn't proof of use, why a museum's "possibly" matters, and why the famous Victorian vibrator story needs more scrutiny.

Educational discussion of sexual objects and their history. No demonstrations or product recommendations.

Sources:

Newcastle University — Vindolanda research and three possible functions:

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/archive/2023/02/vindolandaphallus/

Vindolanda Trust — material, dimensions, archaeological context and Roman symbolism:

https://www.vindolanda.com/blog/wooden-phallus

Metropolitan Museum of Art — Greek drinking-cup fragment, object 2011.604.1.3923:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/693496

Science Museum Group — eighteenth-century ivory object and recorded acquisition story, A641108:

https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co140918/ivory-dildo-complete-with-contrivance-for-simulating-ejaculation-with-cloth-bag

Wellcome Collection — Edo woodcuts, approximately 1830, 36475i:

https://wellcomecollection.org/works/jeq74a99

Wellcome Collection — scrutiny of the vibrator/hysteria story:

https://wellcomecollection.org/stories/what-is-hysteria

Smithsonian — White Cross electric vibrator and historical advertising:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_736547