Stretching the Truth
Sitting on the shelves in collections storage is a curious looking contraption that often elicits puzzled reactions from visitors. Is it a medical stretcher or gurney? Is it a chiropractor’s table? The bench is about four feet long and made of mahogany and leather. There are restraints on each end and a small handwheel on the side. So, what is this device, and what is its purpose? Why it’s a Pandiculator, of course!
Pandiculator, Herbert H. Hamilton collection, 93.122.162, Minnetrista Heritage Collection
This spine-stretching device was sold by The Pandiculator Company of Cleveland, Ohio beginning in 1914. Advertised as a miracle machine, the company claimed the Pandiculator would make you taller, stronger, and heal ailments such as headaches, inflammation, constipation, and back pain. Fifteen minutes of pandiculation was said to be better than two hours of exercise in the gym! Advertisements were featured in respected magazines, newspapers, and medical journals across the country for several decades. A detailed article from the May 17, 1915 issue of the Pittsburgh Daily Post promoted the benefits of the invention and stated
“To the middle-aged man or woman who desires to retain or regain the figure and health of youth, or increase height by methods other than tangoing dexterously and sinuously among the tables of the cabaret, science holds up a finger of warning and advises: ‘Pandiculate.’”
Popular Science, Feb. 1921, Google Books
To use this device, you would strap your feet to the adjustable T-post at one end and your head to the fixed T-post at the other end. While lying down, you would then crank the handwheel on the side to activate the stretch. Various tweaks were made to the design over the years, and new models were released for both personal and professional use. Despite some success, the Pandiculator was eventually identified as a fraud. According to an article from TIME magazine issued April 20, 1942, the Post Office barred the company from using the U.S. mail to sell and ship its misleading machine.
New York Medical Journal and Medical Record, Vol. 15, 1922, Pg. 37, Google Books
The Weekly Kansas City Star, Feb. 18, 1920, Pg. 37, Newspapers.com
Physical Culture, Vol. 43, No. 5, May 1920, Pg. 107, Ball State Digital Media Repository
The Pandiculator in Minnetrisa’s collection was purchased by Eaton resident and former postmaster, Joel W. Hamilton (1858-1933). A letter dated January 20, 1927 from The Pandiculator Company confirms the order and attests that it was one of the first shipments of the 1927 Model D’s. This relic of medical quackery was donated to the museum in the early 1990s by Joel Hamilton’s son, Herbert H. Hamilton (1909-2000).
The Pandiculator Co. to J. W. Hamilton correspondence, 20 Jan. 1927, Herbert H. Hamilton collection, 93.196, Minnetrista Heritage Collection
To read more about some of the fascinating items in Minnetrista’s collection from Joel and Herbert Hamilton, check out these previous blog posts from the Collections staff:
