... what ever happened to the simple straight-forward vending machines of my youth? You know, the kind that dispensed mints and gum and soda/pop/coke and bags of salty things or bags of sweet things ...
I can still remember the love I had for the ones in the basement of MaryGreen (my dorm at the beginning of my time at LVC), as I knew then intimately. (Well -- intimately may not be the right word; I'm not campaigning to get on that "strange obsessions" reality show.) But, being a poor college student who pulled many an all-nighter in that basement, I was quite fond of the machines. They used to give me change sometimes (probably the person before me forgot to claim it, although sometimes it was as simple as checking underneath to pick up the coinage of the clumsy who had dropped it) and, I swear, that at least 50% of the time, I would get two sodas after paying for just one (and only twice, did I pay and get nothing). And the snack vending machine next to it, would also "tip" you an item or two, if you happened to gently "tip" it. [Upon reflection, maybe I had a vending-Haversham intervening on my behalf? But I digress ...]
Nowadays, one never knows what one will find upon stepping up to the vending. For instance, this proactiv machine is in the mall in Florida near the annual vacation spot, and it's just one of many recent developments:
*some machines now come with a touch screen to check calorie count prior to purchase, which is apparently a mandatory requirement for all coming soon (like how it will be in all fast food restaurants)
*Shippensburg University students (all over the age of 17 as required by law) can pick up the morning-after pill via vending
*ramen noodles (another big seller on campuses, obviously) and even cotton candy on a stick are new options
*local company Kraft rolled out a Temptations mousse sampler machine that is smart enough to analyze the face of the person requesting the treat so that it only gives it to adults (and it directs kids to step away from the machine)
To be clear, I'm not a total luddite. I appreciate the make-your-own-mix Coca-Cola soda fountains that are in a few places -- AND the fact that vending machine technology improved from the early days of shooting a bottle of pop down the chute such that you got a carbonated-liquid-bath upon opening it, but I just long for the simplicity of the old days (and, yes, the luddite in me [I said I'm not a total one, not that I don't have luddite tendencies] is kvetching about the over-automation of every interaction.).
Vending for simple things in a simple way -- that's all I want for my simple life. Who's with me?
PLAN B VENDING (just for those crazy college kids):
http://news.msn.com/us/fda-ok-with-colleges-plan-b-contraceptive-vending-machine
FREE PUDDING VENDING (except for any crazy underage kids):
http://connectorati.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/kraft-temptations-vending-machines-break-through-sampling-innovation-or-gimmick-and-targeting-blunder/
COTTON CANDY VENDING (because we all want to be a kid at heart):
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/smallbusiness/1109/gallery.innovation_vending_machine/2.html
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