THE HISTORY OF THE ANAL PLUG
The first proper butt plugs complete with flanged ends were marketed as medical devices. "Dr. Young's Ideal Rectal Dilators" originated in the early 1900's and are immediately recognized to modern eyes (and still occasionally chnage hands as collector's items). They complete with a laundry list of ailments they were said to treat; headaches,insomnia,bad breath,acne,anemia,anorexia,hemorrhoids, nervousness,irritability, and cold extremities were all said to be fixed in a tick with a bit off ass-play. Ads for the products claimed they couldbe used "by any intelligent person". Dr. Young also claimed his dilators could cure insanity,making the extremely bold claim that "three-fourths of all the howling maniacs of the world" could be cured with a few weeks of butt-pluggin'.