The plunger is one of the oldest mechanisms in pinball. It replaced the cue stick and was one step towards automating the game. With the spring operated plunger, the game could finally have a glass on top and be coin operated.

The plunger has existed in its current form around 150 years, a lot longer than bumpers or even flippers have been around. 1990s saw a period of auto plunger only games, but virtually all current games have a hybrid that can auto plunge without losing the manual side.

Twilight Zone is one oddball even in this category, having separate plunger lanes for both!