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Gumball MachineA gumball machine is a toy or commercial device, a specific type of vending machine, which dispenses gumballs, usually for a small fee paid in coins. Originally one penny, the current standard cost of one gumball in the United States is one quarter-dollar coin. Although there were vending machines for stick or block shaped gum as early as 1888, the first machines to carry actual gumballs were not seen until 1907 (probably released first by the Thomas Adams Gum Co. in the United States). Generally, a gumball machine consists of a clear sphere (originally glass, now most often plastic) which is filled with gumballs, sitting on top of a metal base. The coin is inserted into the base and a handle is turned, depositing the coin and allowing a gumball to be dispensed. Most gumball machines have a simple mechanism for dispensing the gumball, to the point of the actual dispensation being largely invisible (after turning the handle, a door in the base is opened, the gumball having been deposited behind the door). However, some gumball machines have more elaborate methods. Most of them utilize the potential energy of the gumball's location above the base, by, for instance, causing it to roll down a spiral ramp. The most elaborate mechanisms also use electricity to power various forms of transit for the gumball on its way to dispensation (e.g. lifts and pulleys), as well as numerous ramps, drops and paths. "Gumball machine" is also a slang term for a police cruiser, since the lights atop the cruiser (especially older cruisers) resemble the typical gumball machine in shape and appearance.
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