A love tester machine (also called ''love meter'' or ''love teller'') is a type of amusement personality tester machine, which upon receiving credit tries to rate the subject's
sex appeal, love abilities or romantic feelings for someone. Many love testers measure the moisture on the skin surface of the subject's hands by electrically testing the
skin conductance and rates accordingly. Others measure the temperature of the skin. However, some machines just use a
random generator. Love meters could be found in
penny arcade
''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have estab ...
s, and can be seen in modern
video arcades,
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
s, in bars and restaurants. Such
vending machine
A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...
s are for amusement purposes only and do not actually give a real result.
Nintendo, before entering
the video game industry, released
their own handheld love tester.
In media
*In "
The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase", an episode of the animated TV series ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'',
Moe Szyslak receives dating advice from
Abraham Simpson, whose ghost is possessing a love testing machine. The love tester also appears in
Moe's Tavern in few other episodes.
*In ''
3rd Rock from the Sun
''3rd Rock from the Sun'' is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials who are on an e ...
'' Tommy restores an old love testing machine at the bar where Harry works.
*''
American Restoration'' features a restoration of an early twentieth century love tester machine in the 49th episode "King of Signs".
*In an episode of ''
Bob's Burgers
''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—who ...
'', titled "
My Fuzzy Valentine", Bob tries to find the love tester machine that he and Linda supposedly used on one of their dates.
Digital versions
''
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection'' includes a simulation of a real world love meter. Similar games can also be found on the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...
or as
software application
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
s. Software love testers are based on randomness, on various user inputs or on a questionnaire and an algorithm. Only serious surveys and analyses can thereby aim to give a real result.
Gallery
The
Musée Mécanique in San Francisco has a collection of over 300 mechanical games including love testers.
Musée Mécanique 063.JPG
Musée Mécanique 055.JPG
Musée Mécanique 146.JPG
Musée Mécanique 110.JPG
Musée Mécanique 109.JPG
See also
*
Hand boiler, a glass sculpture sometimes used as a collector's item to measure love
*
Love Tester, a novelty toy made by Nintendo that tries to determine how much two people love each other
*
Fortune teller machine
*
Strength tester machine
*
E-meter
Notes
External links
Exhibit Supply Love Tester coin-operated arcade game
Commercial machines
{{Game-stub