Japan's Vending Machines Sell Cool Bananas, Read Minds

They sell umbrellas, flowers and cooked meals, cough up cool drinks after earthquakes and even try to read your mind: they are Japan's five million vending machines.

Scattered across the country, the automated stores are about as ubiquitous as traffic lights and offer an ever-widening, dizzying palette of goods.

Thanks to Japan's low crime rate, companies have placed them everywhere, from neon-lit city centers to the icy summit of Mount Fuji, with little risk of them being burgled and relieved of their rich coin vaults.

"They are so convenient, I wish I had one in my room," said 18-year-old Tokyo resident Hibiki Miura, who like many Japanese finds it hard to imagine modern civilization without the handy helpers.

Japan has 2.5 million vending machines that sell just beverages - about one for every 50 people. They generated a staggering 27 billion dollars last year, says the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers' Association.

Machines that sell other miscellaneous goods - from cigarettes to toys, flower bouquets and even printed oracles at Shinto shrines - raise the total to more than five million, according to industry estimates.

In the world's most saturated vending machine market, providers are competing ever more fiercely to be noticed above the machines' neon-glare and the clatter of change with novel new offerings.

Dole Japan, Ltd. turned heads when it set up a banana vending machine at a Tokyo train station in June, selling chilled bananas for 130 yen (1.5 dollars) each or a bunch of about five for 390 yen.

"You can buy bananas at convenience stores or supermarkets, but people seem to find it fun to buy them from a vending machine," said Dole spokeswoman Hiromi Ohtaki. "People think it's fun to watch, fun to buy and fun to eat."

Some machines provide added social functions, such as news flashes and baseball scores on electronic display boards.

Coca-Cola (Japan) Co. says 5,100 of its 980,000 machines will roll out drinks free in the wake of major earthquakes and other disasters.

Most recently, a machine provided 680 bottles of beverages to people who fled their homes in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido when a quake in distant Chile triggered a tsunami alert for Japan in February.

At the other end of the Japanese archipelago, in a remote village of subtropical Okinawa island, Coca-Cola says it supports a nature survey with vending machine-mounted microphones that record chirps of rare birds.

The very latest in high-tech vending machines even attempts to make the consumer's choice for them, using a camera and software that recognizes a person's sex and 10-year age band with about 75 percent accuracy.

Using the point-of-sale data, the machine at Tokyo's Shinagawa train station may look at a person and suggest a sports drink or a chilled can of espresso based on its accumulated marketing wisdom.

Trying the machine recently, Hidemi Mio, 48, said that after scrutinizing her with its digital brain for a second, it recommended three drinks on its 47-inch touch-screen display, including a flavored tea.

Happily, the machine guessed correctly, picking one of her favorites, she said, adding that she would take on board the machine's suggestions again in future, especially "when I can't make a decision".

Payments can be made with swipe cards and cellphones as well as cash.

To protect consumers' privacy, images are deleted immediately, but data on sex, age and purchasing choice is accumulated, said Toshinari Sasagawa, general manager for sales at JR East Water Business Co, which operates the machine.

"We've got data on what was sold, where and when. On top of that, we'll get information on customer attributes, which we hope to use for a better product lineup and development," he said.

The machine has been a hit since it was set up last month, said Sasagawa. Its sales are triple that of any of the other 50 vending machines in the same station, he said while declining to disclose exact sales volume.

JR East Water Business, wholly owned by the giant railway operator, plans to set up 500 units of the "next-generation" machine over the next two years.

In future, vending machines may increase their "communications with people," Sasagawa said. "We want customers to experience and enjoy a purchasing process that is different from simply buying from a vending machine."

-AFP

Boy Holds Sale to Buy Gravestone for Dad

By CBC News

Hundreds of people flocked to a yard sale in Kingston, Ont., on Saturday after hearing a nine-year-old boy wanted to raise money to buy a headstone for his dead father.

"I just felt bad because there was no gravestone, so I wanted raise money to buy a gravestone," said Blake McGinness.

Blake's father, Rick Lees, who died last year of a stomach aneurysm, is buried at the Wilmer Cemetery just outside Kingston. His gravesite is currently marked only by some of Blake's toys, as the family couldn't afford a gravestone.

News of Blake's yard sale spread, prompting hundreds of people to drop by to pick up merchandise, shake Blake's hand, with many looking for an excuse to drop off some money. One man drove from Montreal to donate a stick signed by the Montreal Canadians.

"I don't think every kid would do something like this, you know, sell all his toys so he could buy a headstone for his father," said one participant. "How could you not come?"

Thousands of dollars were raised Saturday and thousands more have been donated to a trust fund through the Royal Bank.

"It's awesome, it's amazing. We've heard from people, as far away as soldiers in Afghanistan. A company even in Texas offered to donate the gravestone," said Blake's mother, Linda McGinness.

With the costs of the gravestone covered, Blake told the Kingston Whig Standard he plans to donate proceeds from the yard sale to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

"Now I know there's a lot of good people out there," Blake said.

To read more, click here.

Pen Storage Devices, Bond Style!

There are certain things that catch your attention. This is one of those things for me. It's like a 'James Bond' device, where it is a pen, but it is also a storage device for your computer. Below are some other things that caught my eye recently, which is another pen storage device, a USB coffee warmer (if you want to get me something for Christmas, that would be one thing on the list), and then there is a laptop bag, that has a newspaper look to it. I don't know what to think about that one, honestly, as it is cool, but kind of weird at the same time. Anyway, enjoy!

Blue & Silver Levitron Globe

Dude, it's a floating globe! Levitron AG technology heralds a breakthrough in the art of magnetic levitation. Observe Earth levitate in space - only touching air! Blue & Silver Levitron Globe by Fascinations is the ultimate conversation piece. Museum quality design and futuristic effect make this a must-have for home or office. Developed by an international engineering team, this stylish, electromagnetic base uses minimal power to create Real Levitation. Suspended in mid-air, this 5.5" magnetically levitating globe defies gravity - inspiring wonder and amazement.With CCL - Computer Controlled Levitation Pass your hand above, below and around the globe as it continues to levitate. Age 8 and up.