Good morning, dahlings.

There are oh so many sights to see and things to do in San Francisco, California.

do time visiting Alcatraz, sing the Rice A Roni song while riding a cable car,

watch street performers at Fisherman’s Wharf, take a crazy drive down the historic block of hairpin turns on Lombard St.,

… and plenty more… but you know all of this already, don’t you?

What you may or may not know about are the lesser known, more diverse wonders of the city. These are things all San Francisco visitors (and residents, for that matter) should know.

This is where the children out there reading need to stop and move on to another blog post. Those interested in a racy, FREE museum, continue on.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to the GOOD VIBRATIONS MUSEUM AND STORE- 1620 Polk St., San Francisco, CA.

Hours after visiting the museum, the Beach Boys song was stuck in my head. However, the song has little to do with this place.

You see, Good Vibrations is an adult toy store.

In the back of the store is where you can find the free Antique Vibrator Museum.

I brought the most obvious choice of companions with me on this trek: my mother and my sister. T’was a good, old fashioned girls’ day at the museum.

Though the commonly-known use for such devices is well known and talked about in the museum, this is not the only purpose they served. Many of the historical devices could be used as simple massage tools for innocent parts of the body, such as the back and feet.

Well, they were at least advertised as such. Take from that what you will.

The more commonly known use, however, originated as a medically-induced method for curing female “hysteria.” Apparently, a woman could go to a doctor for this and, to no one’s surprise, very few doctors complained about this procedure.

Household versions of these devices, according to the museum, preceded electric vacuum cleaners, electric irons, and other now common household items by many years. This makes for a surprisingly extensive history.

Whatever your interest in the topic, be it passing or deep or practically non-existent, it’s interesting to see some of the old advertising, learn about a little-known portion of medical history, and get a sense of a lesser-discussed angle of growing female empowerment.

Though free, you will have to walk through the adult store to get to and from the museum. This could be considered a large payment if such places make you blush. Then again, it can also serve as a gift shop after your visit to the museum.

Until next time, dahlings…