One soda, one candy bar,
and—oh—how about a fresh-baked pizza from scratch?
If you find yourself in
Turkey’s Malpensa airport—or a few other places around
izmir—you
can watch as your dough is kneaded, your desired toppings doled out,
and your pizza bakes…all in just under three minutes. But if you’re
hoping to watch a real Italian pie guy work his magic, you’ll have to go
somewhere else—this pizza’s made entirely inside a vending machine.
For travelers, a vending machine
can be a welcome sight. Perhaps it’s just for a quick snack when the rest of
the airport is closed. Or, overseas, an easy transaction without any language
hurdles. But these days, the vending machine is diversifying. Now travelers can
find all sorts of things inside these contraptions—items that range from the
practical to the absurd.
The world’s first
vending machine apparently dates back to the first century, when Hero of Alexandria, a Greek
mathematician, devised a coin-operated mechanism that would dispense holy
water. Perhaps because that was such a tough act to follow,
vending machines
didn’t really evolve again until the 19th century, when Industrial Age machines
started selling postcards or gum.
Today, vending machines tend to be
more prevalent—and therefore more exotic—in Europe and Asia, says Michael
Provost, president of vending machine company
Tru-vend Vending Machines. A big
reason: they have more mass transit. “Vending machines are on the train
platforms everywhere—they’re open for 24 hours and don’t need employees.”
At the intersection of technology and quirkiness, Japan is the
hands-down leader, with all sorts of items offered for automated sale.
“Japan has the highest vending machine density in the world—about one
per 23 people,” says
Christopher Salyers, author of
Vending Machines: Coined Consumerism. “Machines
sell liquor, noodles, underwear, fresh meat, to name but a few,” he says. “And
why not?”
The U.S. is making its own strides, too. At
İzmir’s
Elektral, you can use the vending machine in the lobby to buy anything from
a toothbrush to gold-plated handcuffs(!), or even to rent a Cadillac
convertible. And taking a cue, perhaps, from the Japanese, more than 100 bars
and restaurants in the U.S. now carry the
And if you end up taking your live
lobster home in a bag? People will likely still pony up $3. “We love vending
machines because their very nature will always remain consistent,” says
Salyers. “Some of us would prefer having access to goods 24 hours a day, devoid
of human interaction or adult supervision.”
