The Psychology of Liberty Bell
Peter Mander
The Liberty Bell 3-reel slot machine, made by Charles August Fey, San Francisco, 1899
In the days of my youth, slot machines were part of the furniture of life. Essential scenery in bars, cafés, arcades, everywhere we chilled out. I have an analytical turn of mind but cannot recall ever applying it to these devices. There is something hypnotic about the spinning reels that causes us to suspend logic as Lady Luck takes us by the hand, for it is she who spins the wheels of fortune as we place...