5 beauty-enhancing gadgets throughout history that were terrible ideas

Long before the era of plastic surgery, the history of medicine was littered with odd — and often ineffective — gadgets and procedures for bolstering our appearances.

The Medical Device Amendments of 1976 — which for the first time gave the Food and Drug Administration the power to pre-approve medical devices — helped curb some of the chicanery. Still, each wave of new technology has brought with it entrepreneurs using that technology to capitalize on our desire to look good and feel better.