The Memory Machine #52 - The Era of the Penny Arcade with Ethan Johnson

The Memory Machine

Arcade and video game historian Ethan Johnson joins Nate on this episode of the podcast to talk all about the penny arcades of the 1890's to the 1920's. That's right, even before pinball! In the era of gaslight, vaudeville and the cylinder phonograph, automation came to public entertainment in the penny arcade. These establishments offered all manner of amusing gadgets, including (but not limited to) miniature mechanical soccer, electroshock machines, target shooting, and that slot-machine-in-disguise, the trade stimulator. So put a penny in the mechanical virtuoso, it's time for the Memory Machine!