When were coupons invented?
Moment of Um
American Public Media
4.4 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 29 January 2024
⏱️ 5 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Have you ever looked through newspaper or magazine advertisements and seen coupons? They’re those little paper rectangles that let you pay less for certain foods, items, or services. But when was the first coupon printed? Who had the idea to advertise with sweet sweet deals? We asked historian Bart Elmore to help us find the answer.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From the brains behind brains on, this is the moment of um. |
| 0:04.3 | Answering those questions that make you go, |
| 0:08.9 | um... Mm-mm-mm-mm. |
| 0:17.0 | Mm-mm. Mm-mm-mm. Mm-mm-mm. Moment of A- Am comes to you from APM Studios, tis I, Sir Save A Lot, Duke of Discounts, |
| 0:30.4 | had my horse, Clipper. |
| 0:32.4 | Oh. At my horse, Clipper! Uh... |
| 0:34.0 | Uh... |
| 0:35.0 | Behold, the paper penant for penny pinchers, |
| 0:41.0 | the savvy shopper slip of sweet, sweet savings. |
| 0:45.0 | I'm referring to, of course, the coupon. |
| 0:48.0 | It is Sir Saveilots Nurable Quest to clip and collect coupons for those in need. |
| 0:55.0 | Good morrow, fair maiden, I buy one ribbon, get one free coupon for thee. |
| 1:00.3 | And for you good sir, 50% off a purchase of four or more cabbages. |
| 1:05.0 | Yes, the coupon hath been a boon for bargain hunters since time immemorial. |
| 1:11.0 | Which is, which is, hmm, you know, I don't actually know when coupons were invented, |
| 1:21.2 | and my young friend Roman wanted to know too. |
| 1:26.0 | A lot of people think that one of the first coupons was associated with Coca-Cola, |
| 1:30.0 | which was created in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, my hometown by a guy named John Pemberton, who was a pharmacist. |
| 1:38.8 | Hi, I'm Bard Elmore. I'm an environmental historian and business historian at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. |
| 1:46.2 | I wrote a book on the history of Coca-Cola and its environmental impact around the world and |
| 1:50.9 | how the business flourished in the 20th century. |
| 1:54.4 | If you go back to the beginning of the coupons, if you think of the 1880s or think about this |
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