In a 2000 interview with the New York Observer, legendary sex educator and activist Betty Dodson observed, “If you ride your Wand for an hour or more, you can go into altered states of consciousness. Oh, it's fabulous!”

That says it all, doesn’t it?

The Hitachi Magic Wand|Hitachi magic wand hit the U.S. market in the 1970’s and, since its debut, has garnered legions of fans around the world - with good reason. It consistently provides the most powerful orgasms I have experienced in my life and has revolutionized my view of sex. I can’t claim to have had Ms. Dodson’s experience in riding the Magic Wand into a new reality... On second thought, maybe I can. I’ll return to that point after we’ve discussed the gory technical details.

Aesthetically, this is not an attractive vibrator. You wouldn’t want to leave it on your coffee table as some sort of post-modern design statement. The body is made of hard plastic with a soft vinyl head (roughly the size of an average tomato or a tennis ball). It has two speeds controlled by an easy-to-access switch and a plug-in cord.

If you’re into the whole sociology of sexuality, the Magic Wand’s design offers plenty of food for thought. Until well into the 20th century, most medical professionals deemed a woman’s sexual desire one form of “hysteria.” One reliable cure for the diagnosis was vulvular massage (read: masturbation). Even though manual stimulation worked by relieving the “hysteria,” doctors found the whole process time consuming enough to have an interest in automation (can you just imagine how sore their hands must have been? poor babies). Kelsey Stinner, a entrepreneurial British doctor, mechanized the entire masturbatory process with his invention of the first electronic vibrator in the 1880’s.

Even though no one had any doubt what these “massagers” were being used for, the vibrator continued to be sold as a medical device rather than a pleasure toy until well into the 1970’s. The Hitachi Magic Wand continues that legacy in its design.

The design may be functional at best, but the Magic Wand is tremendous in action. Google “Hitachi Magic Wand” and you’ll find thousands of reasons why women on every continent and in every age range love their vibrator. Here’s my contribution to that chorus.

I did not realize that I had spent my life as an adult having mediocre orgasms until I tried the Magic Wand.

This is where we return to Betty Dodson’s idea of the Hitachi Magic Wand providing a new reality. In a way it does. Before I got the Magic Wand, I would have honestly told you that I had a good sex life and that I was sexually fulfilled. My first Magic Wand orgasm changed all of that. My body reacted in a way that I didn’t know it could, setting a completely new standard for physical gratification.

I never looked at an orgasm the same again.