A hospitality industry pioneer of another sort died on Wednesday. John Joseph Houghtaling, 92, was the inventor of Magic Fingers, the coin-operated vibrating massager found in many motel rooms in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. He died in Fort Pierce, FL, his residence for many years.

Houghtaling came home from World War II and took a job selling mattresses with built-in vibrators. Business was bad so in 1958 he built a coin-operated vibrator that attached to mattresses. He sold the units to motels as both a guest amenity and moneymaker. The company went public in 1963 and sales eventually reached $2 million a month. The fad faded in the 1970s, as the devices and the coin boxes became the target of thieves.

Houghtaling retired in the early 1980s. The company still exists, selling the massage units for home use. The original Magic Fingers units remain a popular subject for aficionados of retro culture.