This 1960s Invention promised to Ease childbirth--- by Rapidly spinning the mother around untill the baby flew out

This 1960s Invention promised to Ease childbirth--- by Rapidly spinning the mother around untill the baby flew out

The Blonsky Device, A Spinning Machine Invented To Fling Babies Out Of Pregnant People

Everyone knows that childbirth isn't easy. But what if pregnant patients could simply strap themselves to a table, spin at a high speed, and propel the baby out?⁠

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In the 1960s, Charlotte and George Blonsky invented a contraption to do just that. Called the Blonsky device, the machine was designed to facilitate birth using centrifugal force. For safety, it came with neck, body, and thigh straps to hold down the pregnant person, and was also outfitted with a net meant to snatch up the baby after it flies out. As ridiculous as it sounds, the Blonskys actually got their patent approved in 1965 — though, perhaps fortunately, there's no evidence that the device was ever actually used.

 Read more about this bizarre invention by clicking the link in our profile.⁠

Witnessing an elephant give birth inspired a couple to create a new childbirth technology. Unfortunately, it was too ridiculous to use.

Everyone knows that childbirth isn’t easy. But what if pregnant patients could simply strap themselves to a table, spin at a high speed, and propel the baby out?

What could go wrong?

It sounds ridiculous, but in the 1960s a couple actually patented the Blonsky device, a machine that used centrifugal force to fling babies into the world.

For centuries, women labored during childbirth – and many died. According to Slate, before the era of modern medicine, more than one in 100 women died giving birth. And since most women had multiple children, the risk compounded with each pregnancy.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, new medical technologies promised to revolutionize childbirth.

Simple changes like handwashing helped prevent the spread of germs. And new technologies like anesthesia made childbirth less torturous.

But not all of these innovations improved childbirth. For one, the first maternity hospitals were rife with germs and reported a higher mortality rate than home births.

New methods also created new risks. The practice of deep sedation, also known as twilight sleep, left patients vulnerable. Forceps and episiotomies were overused, leaving some babies and parents with preventable injuries.

And one new technology – the Blonsky device – was so outlandish that it sounds made-up.

Who Were The Blonskys?

The idea for the Blonsky device came from a married couple: George Blonsky, a mining engineer, and Charlotte Blonsky of New York.

The Blonskys had no children of their own – perhaps limiting their experience with childbirth – but they were frequent visitors at the Bronx Zoo. And in the early 1960s, they had a memorable encounter with an elephant that would give them a new idea for human childbirth.

On that fateful day, George witnessed a pregnant elephant nearing labor.

The large mammal spun in wide, slow circles. As he watched, George hypothesized that the spinning helped the elephant deliver its 250-pound baby.

The engineer ran the numbers, calculating the anatomical physics of twirling in labor. If Blonsky was right, his insight might transform human childbirth, too.

George and Charlotte Blonsky suggested that modern women were ill-equipped to give birth.

“In the case of a woman who has a fully developed muscular system and has had ample physical exertion all through the pregnancy, as is common with all more primitive peoples, nature provides all the necessary equipment and power to have a normal and quick delivery,” they wrote in their patent application.

The Blonsky Device, A Spinning Machine Invented To Fling Babies Out Of Pregnant People

By Genevieve Carlton | Edited By Maggie Donahue

Published January 10, 2023

Updated January 12, 2023

Witnessing an elephant give birth inspired a couple to create a new childbirth technology. Unfortunately, it was too ridiculous to use.

Blonsky Device

Science Gallery Dublin

A depiction of the Blonsky device, which used centrifugal force to help with labor.

Everyone knows that childbirth isn’t easy. But what if pregnant patients could simply strap themselves to a table, spin at a high speed, and propel the baby out?

What could go wrong?

It sounds ridiculous, but in the 1960s a couple actually patented the Blonsky device, a machine that used centrifugal force to fling babies into the world.

The Technological Revolution Of Childbirth

For centuries, women labored during childbirth – and many died. According to Slate, before the era of modern medicine, more than one in 100 women died giving birth. And since most women had multiple children, the risk compounded with each pregnancy.

Birthing Stool

Wellcome Images

Low-tech tools like the birthing stool helped women give birth in the premodern era.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, new medical technologies promised to revolutionize childbirth.

Simple changes like handwashing helped prevent the spread of germs. And new technologies like anesthesia made childbirth less torturous.

But not all of these innovations improved childbirth. For one, the first maternity hospitals were rife with germs and reported a higher mortality rate than home births.

New methods also created new risks. The practice of deep sedation, also known as twilight sleep, left patients vulnerable. Forceps and episiotomies were overused, leaving some babies and parents with preventable injuries.

Childbirth Techniques Of The 20th Century

National Library of Medicine

An early 20th-century photograph shows a doctor with midwives practicing delivery techniques on a mannequin.

And one new technology – the Blonsky device – was so outlandish that it sounds made-up.

Who Were The Blonskys?

The idea for the Blonsky device came from a married couple: George Blonsky, a mining engineer, and Charlotte Blonsky of New York.

The Blonskys had no children of their own – perhaps limiting their experience with childbirth – but they were frequent visitors at the Bronx Zoo. And in the early 1960s, they had a memorable encounter with an elephant that would give them a new idea for human childbirth.

On that fateful day, George witnessed a pregnant elephant nearing labor.

The large mammal spun in wide, slow circles. As he watched, George hypothesized that the spinning helped the elephant deliver its 250-pound baby.

The engineer ran the numbers, calculating the anatomical physics of twirling in labor. If Blonsky was right, his insight might transform human childbirth, too.

Blonsky Device Table

U.S. Patent Office

Operators would strap pregnant patients to the table of the Blonsky device, which would then spin out their babies.

George and Charlotte Blonsky suggested that modern women were ill-equipped to give birth.

“In the case of a woman who has a fully developed muscular system and has had ample physical exertion all through the pregnancy, as is common with all more primitive peoples, nature provides all the necessary equipment and power to have a normal and quick delivery,” they wrote in their patent application.

They argued that modern women who live with modern luxuries “often do not have the opportunity to develop the muscles needed in confinement,” and that something was needed to provide them with the force necessary for a smooth birth.

The Blonskys suggested a spinning apparatus that offered “considerable propelling force” to expel the baby from the mother’s body. According to the Blonskys, strapping pregnant people to spinning tables would “facilitate the birth of a child at less stress to the mother.”

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