No sources confirm 1950s office whisky machines were a standard perk.
- Wrong: The image shows a 1960 trade show prototype, not a 1950s office machine.
- No record found: No source shows these machines were ever a standard office perk.
Checked against: usatoday.com, Snopes
Why we say that›
Trade show prototype mislabeled as lost 1950s office machine.
The photo exists but shows a 1960 prototype at a London exhibition. No records establish these as common office perks.
Based on only a few sources, so read this as a first look, not the last word.
Reported 26 Sept 2026
How the reel gets there
The reel says: “An office whisky dispensing machine from the 1950s”
The record shows: The photo shows model Monica Bays demonstrating a prototype produced by Rollason Aerocessaries at the Second Automatic Vending Exhibition in London in February 1960.
usatoday.com · Snopes
Claims
1 false · 1 no record
- False
A woman is using an office whisky dispensing machine from the 1950s.
What we found
The photo shows a 1960 trade-show prototype, not an office machine.
- No record found
They took an office whisky dispensing machine perk from us.
What we found
No source shows these machines were ever a standard office perk.
The full story, from the sources›
2016-02-05 | fact_check | https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/whisky-vending-machine/ | Monica Bays pours herself a whisky and soda from an automatic vending slot machine at a trade fair. The machine, produced by Rollason Aerocessaries of Croydon, mixes whisky, water and soda when you insert 2 shillings and sixpence. Time switches ensure it locks automatically to conform with licensing hours. - Snopes (2016-02-05) 2020-07-29 | fact_check | https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/07/29/fact-check-whiskey-dispensers-werent-office-staples-1950-s/5520814002/ | The photo is real – and that is a whiskey dispenser – but it was taken at an exhibition, not in an office building. The image was captured in February 1960 at the Second Automatic Vending Exhibition in London. - usatoday.com (2020-07-29)
From fact-checks
How it's framed (3)›
Sources (2)›
2020-07-29 | fact_check | https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/07/29/fact-check-whiskey-dispensers-werent-office-staples-1950-s/5520814002/ | The photo is real – and that is a whiskey dispenser – but it was taken at an exhibition, not in an office building. The image was captured in February 1960 at the Second Automatic Vending Exhibition in London
2016-02-05 | fact_check | https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/whisky-vending-machine/ | Monica Bays pours herself a whisky and soda from an automatic vending slot machine at a trade fair. The machine, produced by Rollason Aerocessaries of Croydon, mixes whisky, water and soda when you insert 2 shillings and sixpence. Time switches ensure it locks automatically to conform with licensing hours.
Notes on this check (1)›
- No speech transcript - analysis rests on caption, on-screen text, and frames.
Checked against 2 sources · 26 Sept 2026
Help us improve
Was this analysis useful?
One tap helps us find what Blindspot should improve next.