“Change is inevitable—except from a vending machine."
Robert C. Gallagher
The concept for a vending machine actually dates back to ancient Greece, when the great experimenter, Hero of Alexandria, had the simple idea for a device that accepted a coin and dispensed holy water. The weight of the coin tipped a balance that opened a valve, letting water out until the coin slipped from the balance pan and a counterweight returned the mechanism and closed the valve. This neat idea formed the basis for the modern vending machine.
Various contraptions for vending began to be produced in the 1800s, including some designed to get around the legal ramifications of selling illicit merchandise, such as the machines designed by Robert Carlile for selling banned books. Another example is Simeon Denham's design for a machine to dispense postage stamps for a penny.
But it is unclear whether this machine ever got beyond the idea stage.
It was not until the 1880s that vending machines became more of a commercial reality Thomas Adams needed a quick and convenient method for dispensing his new chewing gum, and in 1888 he invented a machine to do just that. His machines were soon found on train platforms across the New York rail network. The design was soon improved (early models could be easily picked with a bent hairpin) and spread to the distribution of other items such as chocolate bars and peanuts. The idea of vending machines in turn inspired slot and pinball machines. Today, vending machines serve anything from snacks and hot coffee to umbrellas and toilet paper. In short, almost anything that comes in a small package can now be conveniently purchased from a machine.
