Do you know how many ATMs are on Stagecoach Island? There are actually five right now—but do you know how they came to be such a humongous part of our culture? Let's take a fast ride back to the past, Magic School Bus-style 
, and check out how they came to be.
We'll travel back to 1967, when the first makeshift "ATM" was installed in north London's branch of Barclays Bank . Basically, it was a crafty metal box, a couple of numbers on the keypad, and BAM—it was ready to go. I know it kind of sounds like your arts and crafts project where you use milk cartons to build something—but there's more to it than just a box! Around the early 1970s, ATM banking became "online," which meant that these metal "boxes" actually communicated with the banks, and in turn, this created a system by which banks still operate today. Pretty awesome, huh?
As for who invented the first ATM machine? Well, there have always been tons of arguments over it (you can read about it here ), but they all have one thing in common—make getting moola easier for us common folk. I admit I don't have a ton of patience, so this invention comes in handy for all our "on the go" lifestyles. The Smithsonian Institution credits Don Wetzel for the invention of the ATM, but who knows—maybe Atlantis was already bustling with ATMs and funnel cake shops back in the days of Plato. You tell me.
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