A vintage "miracle" breast-enhancement device that hundreds of thousands of women believed in (7 photos)

The creators of the Mark Eden breast enhancement device promised women a luxurious bust in just a few weeks of exercise. The San Francisco-based company offered hope to women who dreamed of a beautiful bust without much effort. Jack and Eileen Feather, a successful Californian husband and wife entrepreneur, actively promoted the unusual device. American women's magazines of the 1960s and 1970s were filled with advertisements for this miracle device.





The Mark Eden device came with instructions for breast enhancement exercises. The small plastic device with a spring was never shown in advertisements. Women's magazines only published laudatory articles with photos of busty beauties who supposedly experienced the effects of the miracle device.



In reality, the device didn't add volume to the breasts. It enhanced the chest and back muscles. This resulted in a more defined décolleté, but in reality, the bust remained the same size.





The Mark Eden device was sold in two different versions, but the only difference between them was the text in the accompanying brochure. The product description in the first manual was so glowing that the developers later decided to tone it down a bit to avoid being considered a scam.



Starting in 1965, the US Postal Service attempted to shut down Mark Eden's business. Officials claimed that the device's advertising was false and misleading. In 1966, the Postal Service even filed a lawsuit, accusing the company of mail fraud.



Mark Eden changed the advertising copy and then filed a lawsuit against the Postal Service, winning. In 1970, the court barred postmasters from confiscating the product and the proceeds from its sales.



In addition to the breast enhancement device, the Feesers sold other weight loss and body shaping products: Slim-Jeans, Astro-Trimmer, and Sauna Belt. They also developed the Cambridge Diet, which became quite popular.



Finally, in 1981, Jack Feather was charged with 11 counts of mail fraud. In 1983, the Mark Eden breast enhancement device disappeared from sale along with other similar devices. The creator of these wonder-devices was forced to pay a fine of $1.1 million.

Inventors know better than anyone the meaning of trial and error. The most outrageous inventions of the 20th century are proof of this.