the.com/vendingmachine
a silent merchant that never sleeps, never judges, and never makes change you wanted
means A coin- or card-operated machine that automatically dispenses snacks, drinks, or other small goods when you make a selection and pay.
from A transparent English compound of "vending" and "machine." The verb "vend" comes from Latin "vendere," "to sell" — itself a contraction of "venum dare," literally "to give for sale." The idea of a coin-operated dispenser is surprisingly ancient: the Greek engineer Hero of Alexandria described a device that released a measured amount of holy water when a coin was dropped in. The modern term took hold as such machines spread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when they began selling everything from postcard stamps to chewing gum.
- ancient origin
- Hero of Alexandria built one for holy water in 1st century
- japan density
- roughly one machine per 23 people nationwide
- deadly rep
- more people die from tipped machines than shark attacks
- sells anything
- gold bars, live crabs, and pizza all dispensed somewhere
- cash hoarder
- holds billions worldwide in coins at any moment
tokyo station platform vending — over 2,000 vending machines at tokyo station alone dispense drinks, food, and tickets across japan's busiest railway hub
penn station automat — horn & hardart's legendary automat in philadelphia (1912-1991) pioneered the vending machine restaurant concept in america
shinjuku station drinks — shinjuku station in tokyo has more vending machines per square meter than anywhere else on earth, serving 3.7 million daily commuters