Soda pop vending machines became popular in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Today they are still just as popular as they were then. More than half of all the coin operated vending machines today or soda pop vending machines. Just like cream dispensers dispense whipped cream, a soda siphon dispenses carbonated or soda water making them very important to the soda lovers of today. However, what is the history of the soda pop vending machine you may ask? Read on for some interesting facts about the machine that gives you the cans of pop you have come to love.
Believe it or not, the first vending machine was invented by a Greek engineer hero around 215 B.C. and dispensed holy water in Egypt in exchange for bronze coins. That is a far cry from what a soda siphon dispenses today. In the early 1880’s vending machines in London dispensed books and post cards and in the first American vending machines were used to sell gum in the subways. The patent for modern coin-machines was released in 1896.
The first soda pop vending machine was released in 1926 as a cigarette vending machine but was quickly adapted to sell soda pop. These took a nickel but dispensed soda into a cup. Cold drink machines weren’t invented until the 1930’s and emphasis was put on selling cold bottled drinks throughout the 1950’s. It wasn’t until the early 1960’s however, that cold canned drinks were sold out of vending machines. This increased the popularity and soda pop vending machine history was made.
Coca-Cola of course, even today, is one of the most popular and most often seen soda pop vending machines around. This wasn’t invented until 1910 as the cooler model that you often see in the stores today. The first cooler style soda pop vending machines had the capacity to hold 12 bottles of soda. We have come a long way since then with the many varieties and sizes of machines out there. The first icebox coke vending machines were produced in 1929 and the popularity of soda pop vending machines skyrocketed from there.
Just as cream dispensers have done a lot for whipped cream, soda pop vending machines have done a lot for the many brands of soda on the market today. If course the style and ingredients have changed over the decades. Coke no longer contains coke and Mountain Dew has been toned down quite a bit and doesn’t have as much of an energy jolt. There are also many different flavors, bottle styles, can styles, and way different prices than soda pops had at one time. However, it all comes back to that soda pop vending machine that made the population stand up and take notice. Today pulling a soda pop from a machine is no big deal and commonplace, remember the next time you open a refreshing drink from one of these machines that we have come a long way in soda pop history!