Modern Marvels episode focuses on coin-op games including pinball

I remember reporting about this some time ago but admittedly I forgot about it afterwards – fortunately my dad told me that he recorded it on TiVO as he came but I haven’t had a chance to go over to his place and check it out. Since I have not seen the episode yet and I can’t seem to find any video of it online, I’ll just have to go off this press release from Stern Pinball. From the sounds of it, they covered everything coin-operated, including parking meters but fortunately they took the time to give pinball some recognition. I hope that they gave video arcade games some recognition as well but they are not specifically mentioned in the release.

Hit the post break for the press release from Stern Pinball.

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August 4, 2008-On July 24^th, Stern Pinball, Inc. appeared in a show titled “Coin-Operated” on The History Channel’s Modern Marvels. The show discussed the modern day coin-op industry, including pinball. It will run several times over the next 12 months on The History Channel.

The History Channel sums up the show as follows: “Every 15 minutes, Americans insert over 3.5 million coins into vending machines. We’ll visit a sprawling factory that mass-produces the latest in high-tech vending machines, and a small company that makes a giant gumball machine that holds 40,000 gumballs. Then, there’s the dreaded parking meter, including new ones that can take credit cards and text message for help when they are being robbed or vandalized. We’ll visit America’s last pinball factory, and see what strange coin operated fare kept people amused 100 years ago. Is coin counting Coinstar the ultimate coin operated machine? We’ll follow their coins all the way to a Brinks warehouse. Our last stop is Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanized Museum, housing some of the weirdest coin-op machines ever invented. If seeing a life-sized, robotic old man vomit is your idea of entertainment, drop a couple of quarters into “Dr. Ralph Bingenpurge.” Now, that’s money well spent.”

To learn more about the History Channel’s Modern Marvels, visit http://www.history.com/minisites/modernmarvels/. To learn more about Stern Pinball, visit www.sternpinball.com.