If you want something that isn't at all funny and in fact was quite dangerous, use the fluoroscope. For a time in the 1930's to 1950's, it was found in all kinds of places, like drugstores and shoe stores (to show you what your foot really looked like crammed into that shoe), doctors' offices, vets' offices, anywhere it might give the business a boost. It only disappeared when doctors discovered how much radiation it put out and how dangerous it really was when used improperly.
Here is a shoe-fitting fluoroscope and its history. Interestingly, the machine was in use in Canada and the UK until about 1970, whereas it disappeared from the US by 1960 due to legislation.
The technology is still used today, albeit in a much safer way with far less radiation exposure to both the operators and the users.
