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You are here: Home / Science / Who Invented the First Vending Machine?

Who Invented the First Vending Machine?

July 15, 2020 by Karen Hill

Hero of Alexandria, a Greek engineer and mathematician who lived in the first century CE, introduced the first vending machine.

For a small fee, you could purchase your very own holy water. A coin was placed into a slot where it fell onto a pan attached to a lever. The lever controlled a valve allowing the holy water to flow.

The weight of the coin caused the pan to tilt until the coin would slide off, and a counterweight restored the pan to its original position, cutting off the flow of water.

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Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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