Relax-A-Cizor
notes: label: Description
content: Burton Skiles, of California, applied for a trademark on the term Relaxacizor in 1946, explaining that it referred to “ELECTRICAL DEVICES USED IN MUSCLE EXERCISING BY MEANS OF INTERRUPTED ELECTRIC CURRENTS.” Introduced to the market in 1949, the Relax-A-Cizor was touted as “An Easy Way to Reduce HIPS and ABDOMEN / No Diet / No Drugs / No Heat / No Massage.” William Jack Browner, also of California, obtained a patent on the gizmo in 1953. In April 1970, having become convinced that the device was dangerous, judge William P. Gray issued a permanent injunction against its sale.
label: Description
content: Ref: William J. Browner, “Therapeutic Electrode,” U.S. Patent 2,651,304 (Sept. 8, 1953) assigned to Relaxacizor-Thermatone, Inc.
label: Description
content: “Reducing Device Ruled Hazardous By Judge,” Los Angeles Times (March 25, 1970), p. 33A.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: California, Los Angeles, Hollywood
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1984.0501.01
label: serial number
content: O 670
label: accession number
content: 1984.0501
label: catalog number
content: 1984.0501.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: medical device, weight loss
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 30 cm x 24 cm x 18 cm; 11 13/16 in x 9 7/16 in x 7 3/32 in