History of Dildoes

A dildo is a sex toy, often explicitly phallic in appearance, intended for sexual penetration or other sexual activity during masturbation or with sex partners. Some expand this definition to include vibrators. Others exclude penis prosthetic aids, which are known as "extensions". Some include penis-shaped items clearly designed with vaginal penetration in mind, even if they are not true approximations of a penis. Some people include devices designed for anal penetration (butt plugs), while others do not. These devices are often used by people of all genders and sexual orientations, for masturbation or for other sexual activity.

Conventionally, many dildos are shaped like a human penis with varying degrees of detail; others are made to resemble the phallus of male animals. Not all, however, are fashioned to reproduce the male anatomy meticulously, and dildos come in a wide variety of shapes. These may resemble figures, or simply be practical creations which stimulate more easily than conventional designs. In Japan, many dildos are created to resemble animals or cartoon characters, such as Hello Kitty, so that they may be sold as toys, thus avoiding obscenity laws. Some dildos have textured surfaces to enhance sexual pleasure.

Most dildos are intended for vaginal or anal penetration and stimulation, whether masturbation or with a sexual partner. Dildos have fetishistic value as well, and may be used in other ways, such as touching one's own or another's skin in various places, often during foreplay or as an act of dominance and submission. If of appropriate sizes, they can be used as gags, for oral penetration for a sort of artificial fellatio. Dildos, especially specially designed ones, may be used to stimulate the G-spot area.
A dildo designed to be inserted in the anus and remain in place for a period of time is usually referred to as a butt plug. A dildo intended for repeated anal penetration (thrusting) is typically referred to as an anal dildo or simply "dildo". Anal dildos and butt plugs generally have a large base to avoid becoming accidentally completely inserted into the rectum, which may require medical attention to remove. There are also double-ended dildos, with different-sized shafts pointing in the same direction, used by women to accomplish vaginal and anal penetration at once, or for two partners to share a single dildo. In this case, the dildo acts as a sort of "see-saw"; each partner takes an end and receives stimulation.
Other types of dildos include those designed to be fitted to the face of one party, inflatable dildos, and dildos with suction cups attached to the base (sometimes referred to as a wall mount). Other types of harness mounts for dildos (besides strapping to the groin) include thigh mount, face mount, or furniture mounting straps.
Ancient History

The dildo may well be humanity’s most durable invention. Only fire, weapons, clothing and beads seem to have been around longer. In the history of sex toys we will start our quest during the earlier Paleolithic era. Archaeologists have found figurines from this period in caves, some of which have been understood as fertility goddesses, but others have suggested that these instruments served other purposes. The devices in the photo are approximately 26,000 to 30,000 years old!  They were discovered in a cave by a team from Tübingen University in Germany, and measured approximately 20 cm and are made of polished stone. It is very clear that the artifacts themselves are deliberate representations of male genitals, or what may be called 'dildos' today, the figures are clearly shaped like a male penis. The shape is so evocative that scholars like Prof. Nicholas Conrad, have suggested that these life-size replicas may have been used as a type of prehistoric adult toy given the fact that they are highly polished and rounded at the end. Archaeologists find them all the time; it’s almost as if people in the prehistoric era found sex a natural, enjoyable thing they didn’t have to be ashamed of.

Excavations of many ancient civilizations have revealed stone objects that are clearly sculptures of penises. The archeologists who made the discoveries (and the historians who wrote about them) tell us that they were used symbolically in religious or fertility rituals. Chances are the archeologists (many of whom lived during the ultra-conservative Victorian era) were just a little too embarrassed to report back to the scientific community that they had discovered the world's first sex toys.
Historians can’t put a finger on the ingenious and probably hoary person that invented the dildo, but the popularity of them is owed to the Greek port city of Miletus. Miletan dealers traded olisbos (classical term for dildo), a hot commodity for lonely women, around the Mediterranean. Women (and surely some men) in Ancient Greece enjoyed using olisbos, which were phallic shaped objects made of wood or leather. Back in those days, olive oil wasn't just a staple of the Greek diet — it doubled as the best lube available.
The Greeks believed that a lack of sperm caused "hysteria," or a wandering uterus, in women. Greek men who left home for long periods of time to fight in wars often gave their wives olisbos to prevent hysteria (the link between hysteria and sex toys would last well into the 20th century more on this later ;) ).
Historically, the connection between female hysteria and dildos was something male doctors had a hard time letting go of. Romans are also thought to have invented double dildos for use in ceremony, or with a friend. The Greeks are responsible for the first use of leather or animal intestine to cover a carved penis, adding a more natural feel and a complexity of texture.

Modern Times
The possession and sale of dildos is illegal in some jurisdictions, including India. Until recently, many southern states and some Great Plains states in the United States banned the sale of dildos completely, either directly or through laws regulating "obscene devices". In 2007, a federal appeals court upheld Alabama's law prohibiting the sale of sex toys. The law, the Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act of 1998, was also upheld by the Supreme Court of Alabama on September 11, 2009.

In February 2008, a federal appeals court overturned a Texas statute banning the sales of dildos and other sexual toys, deeming such a statute as violating the Constitution's 14th Amendment on the right to privacy. The appeals court cited Lawrence v. Texas, where the Supreme Court of the United States in 2003 struck down bans on consensual sex between gay couples, as unconstitutionally aiming at "enforcing a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct." Similar statutes have been struck down in Kansas and Colorado. Alabama is the only state where a law prohibiting the sale of sex toys remains on the books is it enforce I don’t know.

Recent social acceptance and popularity has resulted in the emergence of highly adorned dildos. These are often made of expensive materials and may also be jeweled.