Minneapolis, MN (WFN) -- Men who use Viagra should be thankful modern science's cure is only a pill to swallow, because years ago, impotent men got the shaft -- literally.

That's according to Bob McCoy, curator of the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices.

He says many impotent men in the 1930s resorted to a cure for "sexual weakness" called the "Thermal Prostatic Warmer."

The device consisted of a rubber rod which was inserted into the rectum. A cord running out the back of the device was attached to a 25-watt lightbulb.

When the light bulb was lit, the flow of electricity warmed the rod which pressed up against the prostate, and supposedly made the man virile.

McCoy is the author of "Quack! Tales of Medical Fraud from the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices" (Santa Monica Press).

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