Talk about Southern Coke

[NQ6U]

My favorite vintage soda (pop) machine was the one where you lifted the top, put in a nickel? dime? and ran a hanging bottle through a slot til yo got the gate, then you pulled it up.

Those were the best--filled with ice-cold water which gave you the coldest possible drink.

[kf0rt]

What cities are on the bottom? Those are the real deal. What's the matter with Coke, anyway? All of the so-called "vintage" glass bottles aren't really. Sprite bottles had National Parks on the bottom.

All this talk of vintage soda. My favorite vintage soda (pop) machine was the one where you lifted the top, put in a nickel? dime? and ran a hanging bottle through a slot til you got it to the gate, then you pulled it up.



And, sigh, motels don't always have a bottle opener on the wall in the bathroom anymore.

College buddy of mine had that exact machine in his parent's garage. The coin part was disabled, so you didn't have to put money in. It was always full of beer. :)

[W1GUH]

College buddy of mine had that exact machine in his parent's garage. The coin part was disabled, so you didn't have to put money in. It was always full of beer. :)

Outstanding! There's a rehearsal studio here with a soda machine with beer in it to buy.

[kf0rt]

Outstanding! There's a rehearsal studio here with a soda machine with beer in it to buy.

Man, the time we spent in that garage.... Fond memories. He also had another Coke machine in the garage -- it was the vertical "old style" bottle machine with the ramps and gates. Looked something like this:



As I recall, that actually had Coke in it. 1975-76 or so; bottles were already pretty rare then for soda. Most soda was already sold in aluminum cans with the "new" attached pull tab that didn't contribute so much to roadside litter. Remember pull-tabs?

[N2NH]

Here's the present counterpart to that:



The IEEE calls it "overengineered."

Then Japan had a better idea... the vending machine that stalks you... Vending Machine Red!

Buy me! Eat me! Drink me! You know you wanna!



Here's my favorite. Used to be at a slot car place I went to in Midtown Manhattan. Had a lot of dents in it from rich kids sending their cars ballistic off of the high bank curve...

[NQ6U]

Here's the present counterpart to that:



The IEEE calls it "overengineered."

It runs on WinCE. I'd call it a potential health hazard.

Then Japan had a better idea... the vending machine that stalks you... Vending Machine Red!

That would never fly in the U.S. Someone would shoot the damned thing. I know I would.

[N2NH]

Then Japan had a better idea... the vending machine that stalks you... Vending Machine Red!

That would never fly in the U.S. Someone would shoot the damned thing. I know I would.

They even did a video for the stalker vending machine. It sometimes amazes me how compliant and accepting Japanese society is...



Here's one where a woman buys a coke and reaches between it's... well, watch and it seems the slot to take the soda out is in a very odd place(2:02)... Talk about product placement!

[kc7jty]

Those were the best--filled with ice-cold water which gave you the coldest possible drink.

Beech when it didn't work though.

[kc7jty]

I think a week or two in Japan would be a blast. I was at Multnomah Falls once when 2 bus loads of Japanese girls age early 20s packed the walkways at the place (they are a very petite people). They were 100% Japanese too. I didn't want to leave.
You could tell they weren't American just by looking at their faces.

Met a Japanese family at an arts fair here in Coeur d'Alene some years back. They had 2 mid teen boys. They were very amusing and outgoing. Nothing but the biggest smiles and attempts to communicate with hand gestures.

[NQ6U]

I think a week or two in Japan would be a blast.

Yeah, I'm fascinated by the place. Any country that could come up with Iron Chef and wax nostalgic over the taste of fish innards is a country to be reckoned with.