The Fruit Machine: Canada’s Controversial Attempt to Identify Homosexuals in the Public Service during the 50s and 60s

During the 1950s and 1960s, the Canadian government, military, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police utilized a technology known as “the fruit machine“. This machine was employed as a tool in their efforts to identify homosexual men in the public service. Individuals were required to watch adult content as the machine tracked changes in pupil size, sweat production, and heart rate.