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This week in trends, the biggest tech event of the year took place in Las Vegas. The Consumer Electronics Show features the latest devices such as a transparent TV, another TV that folds, and this adorable ball-shaped robot from Samsung. But even though they’re not written about much, sex toys are the gadgets tech reporters take a peek at with a little smirk on their faces.
Gamifying Physical Therapy With the PalmPlug One
Yes, that’s right, CES is as much about TVs and VR headsets as it is about vibrators and “massagers.” Sex not only sells, but it also pushes the tech industry to come up with new ways for people to get off.
Horny Tech
One of the gadgets grabbing people’s attention at the big tech show was the Oh! vibrator from Norwegian company Ohdoki, which made the aptly-named Handy (shown above).
Photo: Ohdoki
What makes this device so unique is that it can be controlled via phone and can sync its vibrations with different media. This means it can vibrate in time with a movie or it can buzz along with songs off your Spotify playlist.
Myhixel was on hand to show a “medical device” to enhance climax control. Although the Myhixel Controler shouldn’t be called a sex toy, it’s hard to deny that it looks like a Fleshlight.
Photo: Myhixel
Speaking of Fleshlight, Svakom showed a device that looks like the popular sex toy for men. The tech side of this adult device is that it coordinates with video you watching on the Svakom app, which does require a paid subscription.
Gif: Svakom
Why It Matters
This integration of sex and tech shouldn’t come as a surprise as horniness is a driver for technology. This goes as far back as the invention of the printing press. When everyone was tired of publishing bibles in the last 1400s, erotic books were on the agenda with some of the first ones being made in the early 1520s. It took another two hundred years for porn magazines to become the rage although getting caught making this “filth” could get you arrested.
Porn was there throughout the early days of film, and it may have been a factor in settling the VHS vs. Betamax format wars. Although it may not be the case the adult industry’s push to favor cheaper VHS tapes ultimately decided the victor, it’s hard to deny porno tapes got people interested in the technology.
Then came the internet. Once people could publish content on the web, the adult industry was right there to make porn available. Usenet groups were the places people shared porn, but it was in the mid-1990s when adult sites started popping up, and there was no turning back.
It also can’t be denied how porn is pushing VR technology. The Oculus Rift VR headset first came out in 2013, not long after, the adult industry started making content for it.
