Joshua Finnell
Associate University Librarian
Director of Research & Scholarly Initiatives
Colgate University
A Brief History of Vending Machines
The Hellenistic Age is not often considered a golden era of automation, but inventors such as Archimedes, Heron of Alexandria, Ctesibius, Dionysius of Alexandria and Philon of Byzantium were some of the first inventors to ponder the development of a mechanized world. Some modern scholars have even revisited this time period to uncover Artificial Intelligence’s “ancient origins.”1 Fanti, Lucrezia, Dario Guarascio, and Massimo Moggi. 2022. “From Heron of Alexandria to Amazon’s Alexa: A Stylized History of AI and Its Impact on Business Models, Organization and Work.” Journal of Industrial and Business Economics 49 (3): 409–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40812-022-00222-4. Whereas Ctesbius invented the first self-regulated water clock, Philon of Byzantium developed the world’s first robot – a life-size servant that automatically poured wine into an empty cup placed in its left hand.2Rossi, Cesare. 2016. “The Beginning of the Automation.” In Advances in Robot Design and Intelligent Control, edited by Theodor Borangiu, 59–67. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21290-6_6. Perhaps the most surprising invention to emerge from this era is the vending machine. Credited to Heron of Alexandria, the world’s first vending machine dispensed water for ritualistic cleansing before entering temples in Egypt.
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