Orange Crush has always been a very popular soft drink, and still is. This soda fountain dispenser was made by a manufacturer called Adco, but there is not much available out there about them. This dispenser is from somewhere around the mid-1930s to the early 1940s. It worked by mixing the flavored syrup and carbonated [...]

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The Hupp Console-Cup Cold Drink Machine was an automatic drink vendor that was marketed for use in all types of locations. These 1949 ads show them placed in a bowling alley, gas station, bus station, theater, supermarket, company lunchroom and on a factory floor. Although it may not have been a very attractive machine, they [...]

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The Modern Tool & Die Company was started in 1932 by three men: Theo Moll, Emil Jochum and Erwin Gerhard. A new division was added in 1953 called Midwest Industries. They made their first pressed steel pedal car in 1956 and rapidly built a reputation for high-quality craftsmanship. The pedal car they produced was the [...]

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The model 93 Eco Air Meter was introduced in 1947. These air meters operated using air pressure, not electricity. They inflated a tire by injecting a pulse of air when the chuck was attached to the tire valve. It would then stop and read the tire pressure to see if more air needed to [...]

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In the 1930s the Good Humor ice cream company saw the need to be able to sell ice cream where people spent their time in the good weather—outdoors. Their solution was to send out a fleet of ice cream vending tricycles. They went directly to Schwinn and asked them if they were interested in designing [...]

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This Royal Crown bottle-shaped soda fountain draft arm is an interesting piece. It was used at fountains to let customers know Royal Crown Cola was available. We found these pictures of the RC draft arm in use at various soda fountains from the 1950s. The photo of the one on the wooden stand is from [...]

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