Relax-A-Cizor
date: label: date made
content: ca 1960s
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
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Anne Marie Serio
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1978.0639.01
label: accession number
content: 1978.0639
label: catalog number
content: 1978.0639.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: weight loss device
label: Object Name
content: relaxacizor
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 12 in x 9 in x 5 1/4 in; 30.48 cm x 22.86 cm x 13.335 cm