When you see a vending machine, do you ever wonder who invented vending machines? Did it start in the 1920s in America? Maybe it goes back to ancient China? Perhaps England popularized the idea and brought it with them in their colonization efforts around the world? The truth of the matter may surprise you.
The first vending machines
What was the first vending machine? If we consider what a vending machine really does, it must be considered to be a machine that dispenses goods without the need for a human to conduct the transaction or dispense the goods. Using this definition, we can trace the earliest example of a vending machine back to the ancient Greeks.
The first example of a vending machine in recorded history was invented by the Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria. It was tied to religious use—this machine was used to dispense holy water inside Egyptian temples.
But what was the first vending machine that we might recognize by modern standards? Well, that honor may date back to England in the 17th century, when small, brass machines were used to sell tobacco in taverns around 1615. A barmaid would bring the box to the table, and patrons inserted a halfpenny into the slot to open it up. The honor system—combined with the barmaid’s vigilance—was all that could keep things in check.
A couple hundred years later, in 1822, England saw an update to the idea thanks to publisher and bookshop owner Richard Carlile. He built a machine to sell books, but it wasn’t because he was too lazy to handle the transaction himself. He built it to get around laws that banned the sale of banned books.
This machine used a clockface design, where the user would adjust the hand of the clock to the desired book and insert money to receive it. The thinking was that since the book was not sold by a human, no human could be arrested for selling it. (Unfortunately, the courts did not agree with this logic, and Carlile was held accountable, as was an employee of his who stocked the machine.)
Modern vending machines
The first modern use of vending machines began in the 1880s, again in England. In railway stations and post offices in London, coin-operated machines were commonly used to dispense newspapers, envelopes, postcards and other similar items.
The idea hit the United States in 1888, when the Thomas Adams Gum Co. installed vending machines on elevated subway platforms in New York City that sold Tutti Frutti gum. Gumball machines were introduced soon after this, in 1907, and can still be seen in some areas to this day.
The first vending machine to dispense drinks came from Paris, France and allowed people to buy beer, wine and liquor. In the 1920s, there were even vending machines that dispensed sodas into cups!
Now that you’ve learned a bit about where vending machines came from, remember to contact Pacific Vending Service for all your vending machine needs.