For many furloughed federal workers the government shutdown has been very stressful and one company has offered to help reduce that stress.

Vibrators.com is giving away pink vibrators to furloughed federal employees and so far there have been hundreds of takers since the offer was made on Friday, the company said.

"It started off as a joke," laughed Tom Nardone, president of Vibrators.com operating company PriveCo. The original idea was to send a different device to members of Congress. "But then we decided that's not helpful - that's hurtful. So we decided this would be a more helpful solution."

The free vibrator is one that the company usually gives out as a bonus for shipments, but Nardone said it consistently receives good reviews. "A regular vibrator is like cheese pizza. You may have a particular pizza you like, but cheese pizza is pretty darn good."

According to Nardone, the company gave out 80 vibrators on Friday, 140 on Saturday, 200 on Sunday, and 200 by noon on Monday. "They won't last long today, I don't think."

Due to its privacy policy, Vibrators.com is not checking whether those claiming the gifts are truly government employees. "We don't want to ask questions. You can decide for yourself if you want to order it," Nardone said. "The only system in place is karma."

The company is considering offering this promotion for other groups after the government shutdown is over. "We can't provide food for the hungry or coats for the cold, so we're trying to figure out what good for society can we do with free vibrators. If there's another opportunity, we'd be on top of it."

Nardone and his team have been throwing around ideas for future promotions. "If the Olympics got postponed, we could send all the athletes free vibrators. Or we can send them to accountants on April 16."