Why Couldn’t They Stop Using This?
May 23, 2025
Source: Reddit
I stumbled upon an odd little wooden box — shoebox-sized, dark-stained, its six small windows on the top, “What Shall I Smoke?” permaprint in faded black paint. Each window displayed a number on a spinning die inside it. A lever at one side set the whole contraption whirring.
It’s a “What Shall I Smoke” trade stimulator, as it happens, produced to help customers select a cigar — or, probably more accurately, to keep them planted at the bar while they took a chance at the dice.
A Little Barroom Mechanical Gambling
Trade stimulators were one of the original forms of coin-operated gambling, and they were machines that vended cigarette rolls and mint gum as prizes but did not pay any cash. Instead, you’d win nominal prizes, such as cigars or cigarettes. These machines sidestepped gambling laws and offered patrons something to fiddle with while they drank. This one utilized six revolving dice. You’d pull the lever, the cylinders would spin, and the numbers would randomly stop — kind of like a table-top slot machine.
Below each window was a peg to pull and release a cylinder. That added an element of control or strategy, depending on how the bar set its rules. Perhaps you needed to hit all six numbers. Maybe just a certain pattern of anything. It varied.
Patented in 1890
Embossed on the front is “Pat’d Sep 2, 1890” and “Pat Apl’d for. There’s no maker’s mark, not unusual for these. The vast majority were handcrafted or made in small runs by novelty companies. The craftsmanship is solid. Real wood, real mechanics — without any fancy, just function, charm.
Built to Keep You at the Bar
This machine provided not just a cigar. It offered an excuse to stay. Spin again. Try your luck. Giggle into the guy next to you. The bartender serves another drink as you do so. It worked.
That lever action is oddly rewarding. And the noise those spinning cylinders make? Addictive. You can see how it got out the vote.
Why It Stands Out
It’s a simple design. A mechanical randomizer that does its job. It required no electricity or advanced engineering. Nothing but gear and wood and a question: “What shall I smoke?”
It elevated cigar-picking into a ritual. Something social. Something fun. People didn’t hurry their time with the experience — they spun, waited, talked, made a decision. That’s what made the machine stick.
Still a Collector’s Gem
Collectors covet these not just for the handiwork, but for what they embody. They’re relics of a moment when vice was a bit more performative. You didn’t sneak a cigar. You picked one, for show.
No “What Shall I Smoke” trade stimulator would ever have survived in such good condition with working parts and readable numbers and would be the crowning glory of any tobacciana or even antique arcade collection.