AS/400 was a multi language VM environment long before Java. It really was/is amazing. I wish there was a way for newer generations to learn about things like this. I'm not sure how that would look. Maybe a History of Systems book or something?
It is a shame. Many challenges we find today happen to have been solved in the 60s. Then in the 70s, then in the 80s...
EDIT: One thing that I love is the fact that they distributed apps in intermediate form and then compiled at installation time. (Sounds familiar, right?)