3 ms·

Who buys stuff in a vending machine in the middle of nowhere though ? I am really intrigued.

eagletusk 9y ago
Miki Meek a radio producer who I meet on a 4 day trek through Guatemala has a This American Life about a phone booth in the middle of nowhere in Japan with no connections to power, people go there to talk to deceased loved ones. It's a beautiful piece of radio journalism. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/597/one-last-thing-before-i-go?act=1 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/597/...
- gkanai 9y ago
  That's based on an NHK documentary called 'Kaze no Denwa' (Telephone of the Wind.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg69F5gewkA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg69F5gewkA
rangibaby 9y ago
Part of the reason there are so many vending machines around is preparation for a disaster; vending machines from at least the last 15 years will dispense drinks for free in the event of a disaster. According to this site Coca Cola dispensed around four million free drinks on 2011/3/11 (Great East Japan Earthquake). http://www.cocacola.co.jp/vending-machine/emergency-support http://www.cocacola.co.jp/vending-machine/emergency-support
- rip_lavabit 9y ago
  If the vending machines are giving stuff away, what will CNN fill airtime with, when they can't complain about looters?! Just kidding, I know they will just speculate about the possibility of it instead.
  - Cthulhu_ 9y ago
    If the looters politely just took some groceries they needed but couldn't pay for because the local economy was in disarray then I'm sure they wouldn't complain. It's batshit people hoarding TV's and shit though.
  - WillReplyfFood 9y ago
    A japanese riot- i guess thats a thousand disapproving stares..
- ginko 9y ago
  How is this triggered? Via (lack of?) mobile connection or power?
masklinn 9y ago
People hiking/moving around, but they're also part of the country's disaster-preparedness system, they'll dispense product for free in case of disaster.

Miki Meek a radio producer who I meet on a 4 day trek through Guatemala has a This American Life about a phone booth in the middle of nowhere in Japan with no connections to power, people go there to talk to deceased loved ones. It's a beautiful piece of radio journalism. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/597/one-last-thing-before-i-go?act=1 https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/597/...

gkanai 9y ago
That's based on an NHK documentary called 'Kaze no Denwa' (Telephone of the Wind.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg69F5gewkA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg69F5gewkA

rangibaby 9y ago

Part of the reason there are so many vending machines around is preparation for a disaster; vending machines from at least the last 15 years will dispense drinks for free in the event of a disaster. According to this site Coca Cola dispensed around four million free drinks on 2011/3/11 (Great East Japan Earthquake). http://www.cocacola.co.jp/vending-machine/emergency-support http://www.cocacola.co.jp/vending-machine/emergency-support

rip_lavabit 9y ago
If the vending machines are giving stuff away, what will CNN fill airtime with, when they can't complain about looters?! Just kidding, I know they will just speculate about the possibility of it instead.
- Cthulhu_ 9y ago
  If the looters politely just took some groceries they needed but couldn't pay for because the local economy was in disarray then I'm sure they wouldn't complain. It's batshit people hoarding TV's and shit though.
- WillReplyfFood 9y ago
  A japanese riot- i guess thats a thousand disapproving stares..
ginko 9y ago
How is this triggered? Via (lack of?) mobile connection or power?

masklinn 9y ago

People hiking/moving around, but they're also part of the country's disaster-preparedness system, they'll dispense product for free in case of disaster.