John Houghtaling

John Joseph Houghtaling (pronounced HUFF-tay-ling; November 14, 1916 – June 17, 2009) was an American entrepreneur and inventor who in 1958 invented the Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed, a common feature in mid-priced hotels and motels from the 1960s to 1970s.

Early life

Houghtaling was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on November 14, 1916.^[1] His father worked for a telegraph company as a lineman, which led Houghtaling and his two sisters to move around the Midwestern United States with their family several times. He served as a gunnery instructor in the United States Army and was sent to England in April 1942 during World War II, where he flew 20 missions on B-17 Flying Fortress bombers with the 452d Bombardment Squadron of the United States Army Air Corps.^[2]

He worked in a series of jobs following the completion of his military service, including as a bellman in a hotel, and as a salesman marketing cookware and, later, a remotely controlled lawnmower.^[1]

Magic Fingers

In the 1950s, Houghtaling was again working as a salesman, this time selling vibrating beds in which the vibrating motor and bed were sold as a single unit that was clumsy, expensive and prone to failure.^[1] At a service call for a broken unit, Houghtaling realized that the vibrating motor was the essential component, not the bed, and that a unit could be developed that would attach to any bed, not just the combination vibrating bed units he was selling.^[3] Houghtaling worked in the basement of his Glen Rock, New Jersey, home and tested hundreds of motors before finding one that combined the minimum-needed weight, could be attached to the box springs of an existing bed and would provide the right level of vibration. Once a quarter was inserted into the attached coin meter, the motor would vibrate the bed for 15 minutes.^[1] The coin mechanisms were modeled on similar devices that had been attached to radios and televisions in hotels.^[4]

By the last half of the 1970s, in excess of one million Magic Fingers units had been installed across the United States and in Europe, in hotels and homes. The devices started to seem out of date and their popularity declined starting in the 1980s as other in-room entertainment options became available and theft of money from the coin boxes started to become more common. Houghtaling sold the rights to the Magic Fingers name after he retired in the 1980s, with the new owner manufacturing units for home use at the time of his death in 2009. Though the devices are rarely seen, they were still available in motels in the Western United States at the time of his death.^[1]

The vibrating bed was frequently featured in movies and television. It was mentioned by name in songwriter Steve Goodman's This Hotel Room, sung by Jimmy Buffett, which included the line "Put in a quarter / Turn out the light / Magic Fingers makes you feel all right."^[1] Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five also referred to Houghtaling's Magic Fingers; the protagonist Billy Pilgrim used the vibrating bed to help him fall asleep. Magic Fingers was also seen in Lolita (1997 film) and in the episode of CSI Vegas “Assume Nothing” (season 4, episode 1).

Personal

Houghtaling died aged 92 on June 17, 2009, at his Fort Pierce, Florida, home due to complications from a fall that resulted in a stroke.^[1][2] His first marriage ended in divorce and his second wife predeceased him. He was survived by four children — most of whom had Magic Fingers units in their homes — and four grandchildren.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Fox, Margalit. "John Houghtaling, Inventor of Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed, Dies at 92", The New York Times, June 19, 2009. Accessed June 20, 2009.
2. ^ ^{a b} Pries, Allison. "Magic Fingers inventor, 92", The Record (Bergen County), June 20, 2009. Accessed June 20, 2009.
3. ^ Dworsky, David. "Big gains shown by bed vibrator; New Device Now Being Sold to Institutional Buyers Large Market Seen", The New York Times, June 16, 1963. Accessed June 20, 2009.
4. ^ Nelson, Valerie J. "John Houghtaling dies at 92; inventor of vibrating Magic Fingers bed", Los Angeles Times, June 20, 2009. Accessed June 20, 2009.

Persondata
Name	Houghtaling, John
Alternative names
Short description	Creator of the Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed
Date of birth	November 14, 1916
Place of birth	Kansas City, Missouri
Date of death	June 17, 2009
Place of death	Fort Pierce, Florida