Coronet

 

Early in 1897, several very special street lamps showed up on the streets of London. Like regular street lamps, they burned gas to make the streets safer and easier to navigate at night. But Pluto Lamps also had vending machines at their base. A small coin could get you a quart of hot water in no time. You could also snag a cup of hot coffee, cocoa or even beef broth. Some lamps dispensed cigarettes or picture postcards. The vending machine lamps were terribly convenient and popular. At this point, you’re probably asking yourself the same question I did. Why aren’t there vending machine street lamps everywhere? It might be because London very quickly learned that a small tin slug could buy you a hot drink just as easily as a half-penny coin. Over a thousand pieces of tin were found in one machine that had only been running two months.