The earliest known reference to a vending machine is in the work of Hero of Alexandria, an engineer and mathematician in first-century Roman Egypt. His machine accepted a coin and then dispensed wine2 or holy water.3 When the coin was deposited, it fell upon a pan attached to a lever. The lever opened a valve which let some wine flow out. The pan continued to tilt with the weight of the coin until it fell off, at which point a counterweight snapped the lever up and turned off the valve.
I would use the coin the vending operator wanted me to as long as it exists in this millennium, but I would have to be on the lookout for sheisters with their arcade tokens and coin blanks:
26 Comments
otter@lemmy.ca · 89 pts · 124d
Neat
Damage@slrpnk.net · 36 pts · 124d
Shit we had wine2 back then and yet I'm still drinking wine1?
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 124d
have you tried holy water9? afterward you spend the day feeling all
toynbee@piefed.social · 4 pts · 123d
Just make sure you avoid Ice-9.
RichardDegenne@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 123d
Don't forget holy water :3
quick_snail@feddit.nl · 11 pts · 124d
It's just full of rocks, Jim
Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world · 51 pts · 124d
That's pretty fucking incredible
TachyonTele@piefed.social · 21 pts · 124d
Greeks created programmable robots, powered by string.
quick_snail@feddit.nl · 6 pts · 124d
They beat Ada Lovelace? Citation needed.
peopleproblems@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 124d
Its the same inventor as this machine, referred to as the Hero of Alexandria. Largely they were complex theater puppets.
Coincidentally I ran into it reading up on automata in mythology today.
I'll add my favorite bit of ancient technology here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism
bigpEE@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 124d
His name is Hero
toynbee@piefed.social · 4 pts · 123d
Hiro Protagonist, presumably.
TachyonTele@piefed.social · 2 pts · 124d
Heros are delicious
peopleproblems@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 123d
Lmfao I probably should know that thank you
hkffepdsedzcfpjdxk@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 124d
I'm guessing you're a Click spring fan too?
ICastFist@programming.dev · 5 pts · 124d
Plot twist: Lovelace has that name because she was another rope-powered robot!
Pacrat173@lemmy.ml · 13 pts · 124d
I wonder how much it would cost in modern cash
Steve@startrek.website · 29 pts · 124d
Still 1 coin, since it operated on the weight of whatever you put in.
quick_snail@feddit.nl · 5 pts · 124d
So one penny is probably the best deal.
TaterTot@piefed.social · 7 pts · 124d
I'd reckon a nearby small rock might be better?
brbposting@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 124d
I would use the coin the vending operator wanted me to as long as it exists in this millennium, but I would have to be on the lookout for sheisters with their arcade tokens and coin blanks:
Town@lemmy.zip · 9 pts · 124d
I wonder how consistent the pours were.
Agent641@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 124d
You had me at wine vending nachine
Etterra@discuss.online · 3 pts · 123d
RIP Necco Wafers, you were better than like half the stuff in that photo.
rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 124d
wine... holy water. wine... holy water.
Shit, I only have one coin! I guess the blessing will have to wait.
(I love it when people learn this)
edit: and I think it's so cool that the weight of the coin determined how long the valve stayed open. Real money and all that.
Karmanopoly@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 123d
With inflation 5 cents 2000 years ago is worth $1 billion