MIAMI (AP) - The inventor of the "Magic Fingers Vibrating
Bed," a coin-operated fixture in American motel rooms in the 1960s
and 70s, has died in Florida.
John Joseph Houghtaling was 92. His son Paul
says the inventor died Wednesday at his home in Fort Pierce.
Tinkering in the basement of his New Jersey home, Houghtaling
invented the "Magic Fingers" machine in 1958. It caused beds to
vibrate when a quarter was dropped in the device.
He moved the company to Miami in 1968 and remained its president
until he retired in the 1980s.
The kitschy devices made their way into pop culture - celebrated
in song by Jimmy Buffett and Frank Zappa and the cause of a beer
explosion in the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles."
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
NewsNews
Man Who Invented The 'Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed' Dies
The bed was a coin-operated fixture in American motel rooms in the 1960s and 70s. John Houghtaling was 92.
By:
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WKRG-TV
Published: June 19, 2009
Published: June 19, 2009
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