Vending has been around for an extensive time and that is one certainty. The first occurrence as such came from a Greek mathematician named Hero of Alexandria who lived in a Roman region. He was an engineer for Alexandria, which now has a population of around 4.1 million people and is the second-largest city in Egypt. It is also one of Egypt's largest seaports accounting for over 75% of the nation's imports and exports. The Hero of Alexandria is considered one of the most important figures of experiment and development of technology in the age of antiquity. His work represents the time of the Hellenistic civilization, which represented the epitome of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 B.C. to 146 B.C. Thus, the Hellenistic civilization represented a mixture of Ancient Greek combined with the elements of surrounding styles of Asia and the Middle East. Importantly, his work also dealt with developing the first vending machine (in terms of recorded history). The machine worked by utilizing a coin mechanism, much similar to what we have today with mechanical vending machines (inserting a coin and getting a product). The product offered in his machine was Holy Water. He included this invention in his book "Mechanics and Optics." When the coin was inserted, it fell by gravity to another mechanism, which then activated a lever. The lever opened a valve that let some Holy Water flow out. The pan continued to tilt with the coin, until the coin fell off. A counter-weight would put the lever back in place and the valve would close. Thus, the Hero of Alexandria created the first coin-operated vending machine.
Later on in history during the late 19th century, the first commercially available coin operated machines came into existence. They offered post cards to the customer. Around the same time, in 1888, Thomas Adams Gum Company introduced the very first vending machines to the United States. They sold gum and were placed in locations at New York. During the same time, gumball vending machines were introduced. After these initial machines were introduced, there was an explosion of offerings over time. Since the early 1900's, we have experienced all kinds of offerings. From, cigars, postcards, stamps, magazines, candy and lip balm. You name the product and it has probably been included in a vending machine.
The first time sodas and cigarettes became available in vending machines was around the 1920's. The soda machines gave soda into a cup for the customer-no cans for you. In 1926, William Rowe invented the cigarette vending machine. However, the quintessential vending icon was the Vendorlator. During the 1940 and 50s, the Vendorlators dispensed Coke and Pepsi and were know for their eye-catching appeal of the time. These things have typified the history of the vending machine and placed the machine into the tradition of what is commercialism.
Today, our vending machines have been operating for some time (as previously stated). The market has grown into one of great popularity. After the Vendorlator's caught the attention of everyone, the idea took on in America. Nowadays, we can expect our machines to vend a variety of products, while still being reliable. For example, we have ramen and instant noodle machines in Tokyo. Tokyo also has ice cream machines and DVD vending machines (much like the ones we have here now). The United Kingdom has book vending machines. Spain has a fishing-bait one. Japan, of course, has beer, sake and rice ones. Whatever the case, the vending machine has been around for a long time and does not show any signs of becoming a worn out idea.
So what are some aspects of a mechanical vending machine? Most of the ones built today have a coin mechanism, which obviously accepts the coins in return for the product. This mechanism can be plastic or metal, depending on which manufacturer you choose. Many mechanical machines separate their coin mechanisms, so in case of any jams it only happens with that mechanism and not the others. The shelves on the machines usually are slide out, to allow you to load whatever snack or product you want into them. Some machines operate based on a helix coil design where the coils deliver the product to the customer. Most of the machines are made from steel and are rust resistance. The coin mechanism however, may be up to the manufacturer. Many factories might set the mechanism to either 50 cents or 75 cents for a product, although the different amounts vary and the way you set them does as well. The locks (which ensure that you keep your money) are usually made of steel and are hopefully made well enough to keep the bad parties out. Some machines offer different units that fit together. For example, you might be able to fit pop and snack units onto each other. It really depends. The coin mechanism also might be adjustable, since there are a number of different mechanisms one can have in a mechanical vending machine. The ability to set the mechanism to your desired price is also offered in varying numeric quantities.
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