Electric bath

The term Electric bath applies to various devices:

* An electrically heated steam bath. Often, these devices were given the the name "portable Turkish bath".

* An early form of tanning bed, which was used on the Titanic and in various light care institutes.

* A cabinet in which ultraviolet light is applied to the user via lamps. These were often upstanding variations of the common electric bath. They continue to exist today.

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The electric bath as an early tanning bed was an old sunbed device designed and produced by the German firm of Heraeus, which produced various ultraviolet lamps in the early 1900s, as well as a particular self-standing horizontal reclining tanning device known as the electric bath.

The electric bath consisted of a wooden stand which held an electrical power supply. Above the wooden stand was a green sheet-metal cabinet lid which held many ultraviolet lamps, and four additional lamps which could be set into the lid and hooked in with metallic clamps. The additional lamps were placed on either side of the bath lid, as well as at the end to provide the user with extra tanning around the arm and feet areas.

Users would open the lid, recline on a metallic surface placed upon the wooden stand, and close the lid. Often, a bath attendant would set the timer on the bath to a specified time, and the lamps would light up, sending waves of ultraviolet rays at the users skin, creating a tan.

The early models of the Heraeus electric bath were quite dangerous, as conditions such as skin cancer were not known to be caused by the ultraviolet rays given off by the lamps during the time period they were used in the device. Care had to be taken that the device was used in moderation. Many users survived and enjoyed the experience, although various recounts include mentions of being burnt, most likely caused by staying in the recliner for more than the recommended time of 30 minutes.

The electric bath was used on the Titanic inside the Turkish baths. Women could use the bath through morning hours, and men could use it during afternoon and evening hours. A ticket was required to use the bath, and could be purchased from the bath attendants for a modern equivalent of one dollar.

The bath was also included in the game by Cyberflix. It featured a frightening sequence of a young man being electrocuted in the bath. It was used in the game as a steam bath rather than a tanning bed.

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References

http://www.rmstitanic.net/index.php4?page=94

http://www.jamd.com/search?assettype=g&assetid=3352210&text=electric+bath