Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Ballistic Missile Vending Machine

Survival of the fittest.... (Title changed)
 
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Looks like a regular vending machine... except there's an extension sticking out of the bottom half. With the extension, the whole thing basically looks like a refrigerator box with a large TV box placed adjacent to it. The extension is about half a meter tall.

When you want a drink, you enter the code in the keypad and, rather than simply dropping the drink to the bottom, the can or bottle is launched via compressed air out of the top of the extension. It shoots up about a meter and a half. Remember, what goes up must come down. Better catch it!

Note: a black and yellow caution stripe along the leading edge of the extension and a plethora of warning signs ought to provide ample protection against lawsuits.

21 Quest, Jan 26 2007

// except there's an extension sticking out of the bottom half.// http://forums.1000a...ars/vend-a-goat.jpg
[skinflaps, Jan 26 2007]

Beer Mortar http://www.halfbake...om/idea/Beer Mortar
Reminds me of this. [zen_tom, Jan 26 2007]

[link]






       Another step forward for vending machine science. Mine's a Lilt.
  

       "pfshhhht"
  

       <catch>
wagster, Jan 26 2007
  

       Why not have it launch a 100 yards out so you have to run to get it, then it will help you work off the calories you are about to gain from the soda.
jhomrighaus, Jan 26 2007
  

       Hm... definitely workable.... but there are several complications involved with that. Couldn't place put it anywhere near a parking lot for safety reasons, somebody else could catch it at that distance and you'd lose your drink, unsuspecting pedestrians could get hit by it (I've been hit in the face by a thrown half-full plastic soda bottle, it hurts!)....
  

       Damn, jhom, looking at it like that your suggestion sounds totally awesome!!!!
21 Quest, Jan 26 2007
  

       I also wish for a better sysem than these gravity drop vending where we need to stoop to retrieve out purchaces. Anyone with a bad back could relate. Instead of launching the product, have it so that it is retrieved at a more hands level height. While they're at it, make it so it won't get stuck in the machine.
the great unknown, Jan 26 2007
  

       Coca-Cola's way ahead of you there, tgc. The vending machines in the breakroom where I work are really spiffy. One cool thing is that the drink is dispensed in the upright position and it is at a height such that I don't have to stoop at all (I'm about 5''10'). There's a little track that moves from the top rack all the way to the bottom. When you punch in a number, the rack rises or lowers to the level of the drink row you selected. The drink is pushed onto the rack, which moves to the level of the drop-off point, and a little conveyor belt carries the drink along the length of the rack to the drop-off point (which is off-set to the right, just below the keypad).
21 Quest, Jan 26 2007
  

       Boooo. I can't catch.
squeak, Jan 26 2007
  

       Why have the can originate from the vending machine at all? Instead, pay $1.00 "to encounter a can of soda on the way back to your desk". After paying, you walk back to your cubicle -- but keep your eyes open because a can of soda will drop from the ceiling at some random point on your way!
phundug, Jan 26 2007
  

       squeak, what better way to learn then? And what if there was a regular machine next to it?
21 Quest, Jan 26 2007
  

       tink, rattle, rattle, budoung, bing (silent gap), slap (frozen can sticks to outstretched hand) washes down croissant with contents
xenzag, Jan 26 2007
  

       If a spin was imparted, then it could be fired and caught 'american football style'. Just make sure you don't throw the 'ball' down in the end zone.
Ling, Jan 27 2007
  

       Have you ever spiked a soda can, Ling? It's awesome! But then, you're still thirsty so that may not be much compensation.
21 Quest, Jan 27 2007
  

       You mean stick something sharp into it, or top it up with alcohol? As a teen, I used to open party-fours and sevens quite regularly with the end of a sharp object. They were large tins of beer without a ring-pull, and held the appropriate number of pints. If I was lucky, they had some left in them once the spray had finished. Is that spiking?
Ling, Jan 27 2007
  

       Actually... I was referring to a football (American) ritual wherein a player slams the ball into the ground after scoring a touchdown.
21 Quest, Jan 27 2007
  

       Make the mechanism continually catch and relaunch the can. If you time it right with compressed air, the force on the can will be low enough to prevent the effects of shaking.
  

       It would be even neater if it were set to free use, and continually cycled between different beverages.
Aq_Bi, Jan 27 2007
  
      
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