1945 Kiss-O-Meter, arcade/fortune teller machine.

This machine was designed to test the osculatory charms of everyone, without discrimination, from old maids and grampas to young lovers and glamour girls.

The KISS-O-METER showed, in plain sight of everyone standing near, whether your kisses were hot or cold, amorous or amateurish. The readings started with Frigid, Sexless, Platonic, climbed through Amorous, Intoxicating, Thrilling and Exciting to the dizzying height of Passionate and Ecstasy, to top out at Devastating and Dynamite. The thermometer that showed the heat of the kisses would climb slowly, with every new patron, to reveal to amused onlookers the passion hidden inside the person operating the device. More than a few wives or husbands were surely surprised at the high-- or low-- readings made by their spouses.

The operation of the KISS-O-METER was simple and easy to understand, as well as inexpensive, as the game cost the player only a penny. The player deposited his coin in the slot and pushed in the coin chute, which set the mechanism. He then squeezed the handle that sat centered on the front of the machine. The KISS-O-METER operated without interruption, the red mercury in the big thermometer on he front of the device slowly rising until it touched the top. The mercury would then drop back until it, supposedly, equaled the warmth and fervor of the player's kisses. One of the twelve square panels would light up where the mercury would momentarily come to rest, measuring the thrill of the patron's kisses.

The large cabinet was an imposing 6 feet 8 inches tall, 22 inches wide and it stood about 17 inches out from the wall. The machine sat on a separate base and weighed about 175 pounds.

The Cabinet was handsomely finished in brilliant lacquered colors and painted in a modernistic design to attract attention. The top sign on the cabinet was illuminated and flashed on and off, also to attract passers by.

The KISS-O-METER was equipped with an easily accessible, but slug proof, coinslot, which was removable with the cash box door that opened from the front for easy access. The mechanism was all electrical construction and all connections were soldered. It was a well built machine. It operated on 110 volt A.C. current.

In the early 1940s, ESCO of West Lake Street in Chicago, IL, followed the success of their love meter arcade machine with the KISS-O-METER. Billed by Exhibit as 'Spectacular' in their advertising, the KISS-O-METER was indeed a popular arcade game in the 1940s, especially popular with the younger crowd.