Entry No. 11 — the Minneapolis file — filed under: history
Science Museum of Minnesota - Questionable Medical Devices Collection
This collection features over 400 bizarre, fraudulent medical gadgets from the early 20th century, including the infamous Psychograph phrenology machine and the Orgone Accumulator.
The story
Before federal regulators cracked down on health fraud, early 20th-century America ran on electro-shock helmets, brass skull-scanners, and soaps promising to dissolve fat cells in the bath. Collector Bob McCoy spent decades tracking down over 400 of these mechanical swindles, assembling the world's most extensive archive of medical quackery before donating the entire hoard to the Science Museum of Minnesota.
You'll find the collection displayed under the title "Weighing the Evidence" on the museum's second-floor mezzanine. The marquee piece is the 1931 Psychograph—a terrifying motorized helmet equipped with 32 spring-loaded probes that measured skull bumps to automatically print out phrenology readings. Right alongside it sits Wilhelm Reich’s Orgone Accumulator, a metal-and-wood box built on the absurd promise of trapping cosmic sexual energy to cure ailments.
What it's like
Bypass the noisy field-trip crowds surrounding the dinosaur bones on the main level and head straight up to the mezzanine level. The atmosphere drops several decibels up here, letting you spend time reading the wildly confident vintage print ads for magnetic belts and quack elixirs. While most of the delicate fraudulent machinery sits behind glass, you can take a seat in a fully functional vintage vibrating chair to get a literal feel for 1920s wellness trends.
The move: Head to the museum's second-floor mezzanine to see these hilarious and horrifying quack devices, then try out the fully functional vibrating chair or read the absurd health claims of vintage weight-loss soaps.
- 📍 Downtown St. Paul
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 120 W Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN 55102
Hours: Added 2026-07-21 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Forepaugh's Restaurant — Walk a few blocks west after looking at quack health gadgets to have dinner inside a restored 1870 Victorian mansion.
- Wabasha Street Caves — Head across the Mississippi River to explore sandstone caverns that hosted Prohibition speakeasies during the same era these quack devices were sold.
- Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine — Double down on bizarre medical history across town by browsing rare anatomical diagrams and Civil War surgical kits.
Good to know
Where inside the Science Museum is this display?
Look for the "Weighing the Evidence" section on the museum's second-floor mezzanine.
Are any of the devices interactive?
While the rarest electrical contraptions are protected in glass cases, you can sit on and operate a functional vintage vibrating massage chair.
How did this collection end up in a mainstream science museum?
It began as Bob McCoy's independent Museum of Questionable Medical Devices in St. Paul before he donated the 400-plus piece archive to the Science Museum.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: smm.org · Atlas Obscura · Official site
last checked: 2026-07-21