History of the Vending Machine Part 2

Did you ever wonder where vending machines came from? Who invented them? When did they first appear in our midst?

Vending machines, or “automatic retailing machines” as they are technically called, actually go back a long way. Although the story is unverifiable, supposedly the Greek mathematician Hero invented the first vending machine in 215 B.C. to sell holy water in Egyptian temples. What a sight that must have been!

The first commercial vending machines as we know them appeared in London, England, in the early 1880s, and dispensed post cards. Then an English publisher and bookstore owner by the name of Richard Carlisle made a vending machine that sold books. The closest type of machine we have today resembling these early vending machines are the ones in front of the grocery store selling the daily paper.

In 1888 the Thomas Adams Gum Company installed the first vending machines in the U.S. on the subway platforms of New York City. They dispensed Tutti Frutti gum. In 1897 the Pulver Manufacturing Company added animated figures, a type of toy surprise, to its gum machines. This idea is still prevalent in gum machines, except today you’re likely to get a plastic decoder ring or space monster. Round gumball vending machines were not made until 1907.

As time went on, more and more items were sold in vending machines. You could get just about anything, including cigars, cigarettes, tampons, and the list goes on and on. Probably the most famous vending machines were the Coca Cola vending machines. How many commercials on TV over the years have featured these machines? Of course, today soda machines are not limited to Coca Cola. Vending machines carry every brand of soda. Tobacco products, however, are no longer sold in vending machines to prevent minors from buying them.

Food is big in vending machines today. In every public place such as an office building, an airport, bus station, or a train station, you’ll find vending machines. It's a well-known fact that travelers and people waiting for public transportation get very hungry after a while. Today you can get salads, sandwiches, desserts, canned goods, and just about anything in refrigerated vending machines.

Vending machines are no longer limited to public places. You can get a vending machine for your home. Perhaps you wouldn’t want a large business machine, but you can get a gumball machine for your game room or a Coca Cola replica. As a matter of fact, the home vending machine is a big business in the United States. People love to show them off to guests.

There is no question that vending machines make our lives more convenient. We can get just about anything even when the stores are closed. If we run out of bottled water and the water store’s not open, we can get a gallon for about a quarter at the water dispenser. It's hard to find anything bad about vending machines, except when they take your money and give you nothing in return.