There’s something fun about a vending machine. You click in the coins, push buttons, and it drops your snack or drink into the till; it’s like simple magic. In the US, most of the vending machines I have come across sell things at a mark-up—adding up to a dollar onto the regular price of drinks or snacks. But in the Shanghai subway, I’ve always appreciated that vending machine drinks are sold for about the same price you can buy them in convenience stores, only adding a 5 mao surcharge or so.
The other day, I was thirsting for a cold drink in the Shanxi Nan Lu subway station and I made my way to the usual spot where the vending machines stand, behind the escalators. I popped my coins in, and lo and behold!, that’s when I discovered that someone in the Shanghai Metro had invested in a fancy Robo-Quencher-style machine: refrigerated interior, mistake-canceling keypad, and yes, a robotic arm! An arm which “gently delivers” your selection to you without shaking, dropping, or breaking. In a machine like this, glass bottles can even be placed on the top shelves.
I was mesmerized by the smooth and precise movements of the arm, I felt momentarily like one of the alien toys in Toy Story’s claw vending machine (“The Claw, It moves!”). I later searched in other subway stations around town, but found only the traditional corkscrew twist delivery system vending machines in other stations.
The machine inspired me to research vending machines online, to learn about the history of vending. I remember my father telling me stories about eating at automats when he was young (although by then automats were already in decline) and he felt nostalgia for the vending-style machines–or at least for that era; maybe that’s why I sense something historical and Chaplin-esque about the vending experience. Believe it or not, back in the early 1900’s, the food from automats was tasty and freshly-made, and “no one made a better cup of coffee”.
Coincidentally as I was doing my vending machine research, the New York Times came out with an article about a new revolutionary machine: a $32,000 pizza vending machine, which begins with flour and water and turns out hot pizza, recently launched by an Italian entrepreneur.
Well, freshly-made pizza or a hot cuppa may not be available inside the Shanxi Nan Lu subway, but I can always get an affordable cold drink, delivered by a magic robotic arm.
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