The vending machine. They seem like a modern marvel. You put in a dollar bill and out springs cold drinks, snacks, hot coffee, and sometimes even a warm meal. It seems like something out of the Jetsons cartoons we watched as children.

But believe it or not, the vending machine has been around a lot longer than you might expect. We spoke to a vending machine company in NJ to get the lowdown on the long, rich history of the modern vending machine. We think you’ll find it fascinating.

Believe it or not, vending machines date back to the first century. Hero of Alexandria, born in the year 10 AD, invented a coin-operated machine that dispensed holy water. A coin dropped into the machine activated a weight-sensitive panel that allowed water to flow out. We don’t think there is a vending machine company in NJ that has a machine like that, though!

The modern vending machine took off during the Industrial Revolution. London, England played host to the first modern coin-operated machines in the 1880s. Rather than giving holy water or soda pop or candy, though, they dispensed something a little more boring: postcards. Right around the same time, Richard Carlisle, a publisher and printer in London, invented a vending machine for selling books.

By 1888, vending machines were introduced into the United States. The Thomas Adams Gum Company paved the way for them when they created machines designed to dispense candy. The first candy to come out of a modern vending machine? Tutti-Fruti gum, which is still sold today. The machines first appeared on News York City subway platforms.

A few years later, the Pulver Manufacturing Company jazzed up their version of the vending machine with little animated figures and statues. Their creation would morph over time and eventually lead to the modern slot machine and pinball game.

By 1909, round, hard-coated gum was invented specifically for coin-operated machines. Think of the classic red gumball dispenser with a bulbous glass filled with gumballs and you have the right idea. By the 1920s, almost anything you can imagine was coming out of vending machines. Stamps. Postcards. Cigars. Soda dispensed into a cup. Cigarettes. Vending machines were common and popular during this period – probably not the picture of the Great Depression you imagine! In the 1930s there was even a popular machine in England called the Penguincubator that stocked new paperbacks.

In fact, book vending machines were quite a hit for several decades both in England and the United States. The Book-O-Mat and Readomatic were both well known models that dispensed books from big publishers like Pocket Books. In the west, those machines have long since faded away, but they remain hugely popular in Japan, where vending machines stocking books, magazines and comics still do brisk business.

Here in the United States, a vending machine company in NJ or elsewhere will generally stick with snacks (chips, candy, etc.), coffee, and of course, cold drinks. For as modern as these conveniences seem, however, it’s amazing to consider that the modern vending machine was actually 2000 years in the making!