History of the vending machine

What is a vending machine? The definition of sale quoted from Dictionary.com:

Sell ​​through a vending machine.

Whereas the definition of vending machine quoted from Wikipedia is:

A vending machine is a machine that dispenses merchandise when a customer deposits money, validated by a currency detector, sufficient to purchase the desired item (as opposed to a store, where the presence of staff is required for each purchase).

Typically, the machine may consist of a large, upright, rectangular-shaped box that has a place to insert coins or bills into the machine. Merchandise to be sold is placed in the vending machine and when a customer enters the appropriate money and selects the item they want, the vending machine will automatically release the item through a special hole at the bottom of the machine.

Do you know the history of vending machines? The vending machine has a long history and let’s learn about it:

• 215 BC, the ancient Greeks invented an urn and placed it in an Egyptian temple, which dispensed a certain amount of holy water. It was considered the first vending machine.
• In the early 1880s, the first coin-operated vending machines were invented in London. They were postcard vending machines.
• Richard Carlisle invented the book vending machine.
• Coin acceptance mechanisms that distinguish genuine from counterfeit coins have made vending machines more popular.
• The first vending machine in America was located on subway platforms in New York City. It was invented by The Thomas Adams Company, distributed Tutti Frutti gum.
• The Pulver Manufacturing Company introduced the first animated gumball vending machines in 1897.
• Gumball vending machines and round candy vending machines were first introduced in 1907.
• In the early 1900s, cooperative bars and cafes exploded like crazy in France and Germany.
• Horn & Hadart (1902 – 1962) was an entirely coin-operated restaurant in Philadelphia.
• Various products were offered from: cigarettes, stamps, postcards, sweets, chewing gum, etc.
• 1926, William Rowe of the United States invented a cigarette vending machine.
• 1965, canned soda vending machines were invented.
• 1981, “talking” vending machines were invented.
• To date, vending machines come in different shapes and sizes, they dispense various products.

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