This is for anyone who owns or has at one point owned any of the following: a personal gumball machine, a mini desktop fridge, a mini "olde-time" popcorn popper. It's a personal ramen noodle cup vending machine. In the video, which appears after the jump, the thing looks like more bother than it's worth. A vending machine—especially a Japanese one—is supposed to be all automated and whizz-bangy, but this one is little more than a hot-water kettle with a timer attached—mashed up with a novelty piggy bank. Still, the video is fun in that wacky-Japanese -appliance kind of way....
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Give a man a fish, they say, and he'll eat for a day. Teach him to fish, and he'll eat forever—as long as he has bait. Continuing our series of wacky food-vending machines is this one, sent in by my friend Sydney. She says, "This was bizarre. My cousin took a photo of a bait-vending machine in Idaho. Somehow I thought it would be of some strange interest to you and your Serious Eats compatriots." It is. Yeah, it's not directly food-related, but I think I've made my point on how it can indirectly score you some food. I think my dad will like this post, as will you, HunterAnglerGardenerCook. Related Eggs from a Vending Machine Coca-Cola Vending Machine Robot...
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Photograph from JoshBerglund19 on Flickr Really, Japan? The nation already has the largest number of vending machines per capita (about one for every 23 people) and won't even stop at eggs. According to witness Josh Berglund, this one is refrigerated and refilled regularly by nearby farmers, with each compartment selling 10-12 eggs for 300 yen (roughly $3). Since part of the vending machine experience is watching purchased items take that daredevil free fall, this one doesn't really seem fair. [via Wired] Previously Incredible Japanese Vending Machines Coca-Cola Vending Machine Robot in Japan...
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Photo from sanchome on Flickr. The only thing better than a regular robot is one that doubles as a Coca-Cola vending machine with scorpion-like pincher hands. The logistics are unclear—does it really vend cola cans? Is there a person tall and strong enough to wear this bulky suit? File this under times I wish I was a Japanese school girl outside Shibuya Station in Tokyo to see this weirdness walk by....
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Different kinds of Japanese vending machines from PingMag. Americans are seriously missing out on the ability to purchase hot french fries or socks without having to talk to an actual human being. So until our country gets with the program, we'll just have to sigh into our sake and wish we lived in Japan. Meanwhile Tokyo-based design magazine PingMag, after doing some investigative reporting at a manufacturers' convention in Tokyo, provides updates on the latest in amazing Japanese vending machines. From a self-serve tourist information center to cigarette dispensers with age recognition software, the only thing these innovative machines have left in common is automated awesomeness. Related Mobile Street Food in Tokyo, Japan Ningyo-Yaki: Molded Japanese Cakes Spherical Is...
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I've had a few vending machine frustrations in my life, but three stuck bags in a row is just the machine's way of saying, "Screw you." Check out more of life's little failures at the FAIL blog....
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