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Magic Fingers Inventor Dies

Published Friday, June 19, 2009

A hospitality industry pioneer of another sort died on Wednesday. John Joseph Houghtaling, 92, was the inventor of Magic Fingers, the coin-operated vibrating massager found in many motel rooms in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. He died in Fort Pierce, FL, his residence for many years. Houghtaling came home from World War II and took a job selling mattresses with built-in vibrators. Business was bad so in 1958 he built a coin-operated vibrator that attached to mattresses. He sold the units to motels as both a guest amenity and moneymaker. The company went ...

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