Vino Vending.
Used in a sentence: "Apparently the French did it first, and the jury is still out on its overall effectiveness, but my home state of Pennslyvania is taking innovations from Homeland Secuirty and applying them to ... a grocery store based vending machine to purchase wine -- Vino Vending."
Which leads me to the following thoughts ...
* when I was little, it was Space Shuttle technology that was being brought to everyday products (except O-rings, naturally) -- now it's Homeland Security developments pushed to the marketplace -- that's its own sad commentary on today's world, no?
* the experiment was halted around the holidays due to technological difficulties -- but what's so hard -- you scan your ID, an employee verifies it remotely, you take an on-the-spot breathalyzer exam, and you get your wine (I'm not sure if they've been fixed, so I've added it to my ever expanding list of things to see when I'm home this May)!
* as a poor college student, I used to shake the machine to see what would fall (bottles would probably break on this gadget) or get down on the floor to find loose change underneath (as I'm sure winos have been inspired to do!
* in the French version, it's BYOB (bring your own box?) for the filling! Seems simple enough overseas ...
NOW AVAILABLE (as of last summer) BUT NOT REALLY ...
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=7728947
GLITCHES REQUIRE THEM TO BE PULLED IN DECEMBER ...
http://www.walletpop.com/2010/12/23/pennsylvania-pulls-wine-vending-machines-following-glitches/
AND ... HERE's THE FRENCH VERSION:
http://www.asylum.com/2010/09/16/wine-vending-machines/
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