Fun facts on gumball sales and popularity over the decades

Here are some fun facts and statistics on gumball sales and popularity over the decades:

• In 1925, the Thomas Adams Gum Company placed the first commercial gumball machines in New York City subway stations. They sold over 1.5 million gumballs in the first 6 months!
• During the Great Depression in the 1930s, gumball machines became immensely popular for providing an affordable treat at just 1 penny. Roughly 5 million gumballs were sold from machines daily.
• The 1930s also saw the rise of bubble gum, led by brands like Dubble Bubble. Bubble gum accounted for over 80% of the gum sold in gumball machines by the late 1930s.
• During WWII in the early 1940s, gumball sales declined due to sugar rationing. But they bounced back postwar, reaching 10 million gumballs sold daily by 1948.
• By 1962, it was estimated that 2.1 billion gumballs were sold from vending machines annually in the U.S.
• Gumball sales peaked in the late 1990s at over 3.6 billion per year, but declined in the 2000s, likely due to dropping overall gum consumption.
• Today, it is estimated that over 500 million gumballs are still sold from vending machines in the U.S. annually.
• There are an estimated 2-3 million gumball machines still in operation across the country today.

So from their penny gumball beginnings to peak bubble gum popularity, gumball machines have long served up billions of bouncy balls over the decades!