That’s right…Twitter was really invented way back in 1935 in London, England.

Back then it was know as “The Notificator” and it’s main purpose was to aid people who wanted to make or cancel appointments or inform friends of their whereabouts.

These new machines were installed on streets, in stores, at railroad stations and other public places where individuals could leave messages for friends.

The user of the notificator would walk up on a small platform in front of the machine, write a brief message on a continuous strip of paper then pay for having it displayed by dropping a coin in the coin slot of the machine. Upon payment the note would move up behind a glass panel where it remained in public view for at least two hours enabling the person for whom it was intended to view the note at the appointed place. The machine was similar in appearance to a candy-vending device and the number of characters allowed was determined by how small you could write.

While this machine may not have been as useful as Twitter is today, the idea was the same.

Source: Modern Mechanix (Aug, 1935)