Love tester machine

A love tester machine (also called love meter or love teller) is a type of amusement personality tester machine, which upon receiving credit tries to rate the subject's sex appeal, love abilities or romantic feelings for someone. Many love testers measure the moisture on the skin surface of the subject's hands by electrically testing the skin conductance and rates them accordingly. Others measure the temperature of the skin. However some machines just use a random generator. Love meters could be found in penny arcades, and can be seen in modern video arcades, amusement parks, in bars and restaurants. Such vending machines are for amusement purposes only and do not actually give a real result.[1] Nintendo, in their early years, once created a Love Tester.

A Love Meter (left) beside a strength tester machine at a Framingham, Massachusetts rest stop
A vintage Love Tester machine at Musée Mécanique
An electronic fortune teller and love tester manufactured in the mid-1990s

In media
  • In "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase", an episode of the animated TV series The Simpsons, Moe Szyslak receives dating advice from Abraham Simpson, whose ghost is possessing a love testing machine. The love tester also appears in Moe's Tavern in few other episodes.
  • In 3rd Rock from the Sun Tommy restores an old love testing machine at the bar where Harry works.
  • American Restoration features a restoration of an early twentieth century love tester machine in the 49th episode "King of Signs".
  • In an episode of Bob's Burgers, titled "My Fuzzy Valentine", Bob tries to find the love tester machine that he and Linda supposedly used on one of their dates.

Digital versions

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection includes a simulation of a real world love meter. Similar games can also be found on the Internet or as software applications. Software love testers are based on randomness, on various user inputs or on a questionnaire and an algorithm. Only serious surveys and analyses can thereby aim to give a real result.

The Musée Mécanique in San Francisco has a collection of over 300 mechanical games including love testers.[2]

See also

Notes
  1. Ricardo, David (August 18, 2012). "Love Meter Impulse Vending Machine • Perfect Vending". perfectvending.net. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  2. "Musée Mécanique". San Francisco. Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 21 September 2012.


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