Foodie Fixation |

Taming the roaring beast - The story of the vending machine

Posted by Boon in February 21st, 2008

You’re caught up with work and your stomach suddenly roars. The cafeteria is closed and the nearest deli is a quarter mile away. What are you going to do? Your only hope of taming the roaring beast is the vending machine. Vending machines are a life saver for frequent snackers like myself, for many students, workers and the casual john doe who has a sudden craving for M&Ms.

The history of vending machines dates back to the first century with the inception of a machine that dispenses a fixed amount of holy water based on the weight of the inserted coin. The inventor was believed to be Hero of Alexandria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_of_Alexandria) from Alexandria, Roman Egypt according to Wikipedia. Since then, the vending machine has evolved into a multipurpose sales machine that has come to dispense different items to consumers of all ranges.

The vending machine still employs the original concept of pre-paying for desired items. Consumers today can pay for their items through new mediums of technology, such as through touch screen computers, mobile phones, and other wireless payment systems. The vending machine is one of the many technological marvels that make life easier. Thank you Hero of Alexandria, thank you for inventing such a simple but yet revolutionary device.

Ipod Vending machine -

The story that tirggered this post:

I was craving for some cookies so i decided to get some from the vending machine located at the pantry. I inserted $1 and selected C7 which translates to a bag of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies. The dispensing coil turned and then it stopped. The bag of cookie was stuck. So I thought of putting in another $1 to get the first bag to drop and I would have 2 bags of Famous Amos. Again, I selected C7 and the coil turned and it came to a stop again, déjà vu! With $2 paid to the beast and without my Famous Amos cookies, my only solution was to shake the machine into submission. I did just that, and, *drum roll* I came out victorious!