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An Automat is a fast food restaurant where foods and drink are served by vending machines.
- tptacek 18y ago... and?
- mechanical_fish 18y agoMaybe these are considered steampunk now? Am I that old? Maybe I should be submitting more slide-rule articles. Or, better yet, TMRC's System 2: http://tmrc.mit.edu/progress/images.tcl?year=2002&month=5&day=26 http://tmrc.mit.edu/progress/images.tcl?year=2002&month=... Now that is some awesome old technology. I can't believe the link to the audio file is broken! Thank god I visited TMRC to hear this thing in person before they took it to the museum.
- rantfoil 18y ago+1 -- why is this here?
- davidw 18y agoA recollection: my wife and I were touring Alhambra (La Alhambra is what the spanish called it, but 'Al' is apparently the article in Arabic, so La Alhambra is a bit redundant) in Spain, and after walking around the whole thing were a bit tired. We walked out past some vending machines to the benches, and glanced at what was on offer: not only candy bars and fizzy drinks, but sandwiches, which we laughed at... who would eat a sandwich that had been sitting around under the Spanish sun all day; either it was chock full of potent chemicals, or it was already growing a disgusting range of nasties. Relaxing on the bench a few minutes later, we noticed a guy walk past, waving a few of the sandwiches, and exclaiming to his wife in a proud tone that he'd found something to eat. I guess the British deserve their reputation for not being picky eaters?
- pius 18y agoI was inspired by this: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=316820 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=316820 Plus, I think it's a cool, old idea that could inspire some new business ideas. Obviously some people found it interesting . . . they upmodded it.
- sown 18y agoIf you can reduce McDonald's --or any fast food place's -- costs by X% and/or increase its throughput by Y% by an automated robotic means, you may have a golden business or start up opportunity. It seems like it should be feasible...
- speek 18y agoWhy yes, yes it is. Has anybody seen Dark City? There's a great example of one in there. Its where the guy loses his wallet.
- brandnewlow 18y agoThat's EXACTLY what I thought of when I saw this post. Great movie.
- Flemlord 18y agoThey have these everywhere in Europe. And yes, they're as gross as they sound. Apparently Europeans love tasteless sandwiches made up of mostly bread, with a single slice of meat or cheese between the slices. They serve them everywhere, in restaurants, on trains, and in the automats.
- RobGR 18y agoI have always wondered why these died out. I have never seen one myself, but they seem the most efficient and streamlined way to run a restaurant. It would possible to provide high-quality food for fast food prices via the this system. I would make the dining area wrap around the kitchen, and have big windows allowing the diners to see the kitchen, and be assured the food was prepared cleanly.
- kingkongrevenge 18y agoThere was an article in the NY Times sometime this year about the last one in the US closing down in NYC. You could contact the owner.
- josefresco 18y agoThe peak of humanities's "do everything from the car" mentality.
- twopoint718 18y agoReminds me of the "ticket" restaurants in Japan.
- sown 18y agoThe idea of an automated fast food place sometimes wants to come back. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20030801/1345236_F.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20030801/1345236_F.shtml