Tinkering in the basement of his New Jersey home, Houghtaling invented the "Magic Fingers" machine in 1958. It caused beds to vibrate when a quarter was dropped in the device.
He moved the company to Miami in 1968 and remained its president until he retired in the 1980s.
The kitschy devices found their way into pop culture, celebrated in movies and music. Jimmy Buffet's honored it in the song "This Hotel Room": "Put in a quarter, turn out the light, Magic Fingers makes ya feel all right."
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