The Illustrated 30,000 Year Evolution of the Sex Toy

Sex toys have a long and turbulent history, which stretches back almost 30,000 years when our ancestors “hunched over carving eight-inch-long penises out of siltstone.” Hallie Lieberman’s new book, Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy, takes readers through the colorful backstories of humanity’s favorite playthings. Watch the video above for an illustrated primer on ancient phalluses, Victorian-era vibrators (disguised as wrinkle-removers), and America’s first prosthetic penises manufactured by an enterprising ventriloquist.

I designed and animated this explainer for The Cut. I modeled the vibrators in Cinema 4D and used Element 3D to bring them into AfterEffects.