NSR: The vending machine challenge

**spanky** · 10-13-2005, 08:41 AM

There was a thread here about this early last year. It's now in the archives at http://tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7562 so I can't post a reply to it.

The company I work for has been invited to participate in an exhibition match of the Vending Machine Challenge. I'm thinking of joining the team. It sounds like fun.

More info on the event is here: http://www.thehappycorp.com/press/ar...d_presents.php

The Vending Machine Challenge Brave competitors will go head-to-head in front of a live audience in the world’s first competitive eating vending machine event. This unprecedented eating competition unites gastronomical expertise, a variety of food items, speed eating, physical dexterity, athletic skill, and sheer consumption strategy. Each contestant must rise to the following task: to consume the entire contents (minus packaging) of a standard vending machine. The spread of chips, nuts, candy and gum will make their path daunting.

The rules for this event are as follows:
1) The Vending Machine Challenge is a head-to-head event. Two stocked vending machines will be on site for competition. Each team will receive its own Vending Machine.
2) Teams of Contestants will compete in the Exhibition Match. These teams will consist of 3 to 5 eaters.
3) A referee will supervise the entire competition. The referee will also serve as the official time keeper for this event.
4) The teams of eaters are required to eat all items in the vending machine in order to win. The exact amount of snacks to be included in each machine has not been determined but will be within the consumptive range or hungry creatives.
5) Teams of Contestants will be given the EXACT amount of change necessary to purchase all items in the machine. The currency will be distributed in varying amounts of coins and dollar types, making the contestant’s purchase method into a strategic factor of the competition.
6) There will be no breaks after the referee signals the start of the competition. The competition will not stop until one competitor eats all of the food in his machine, or one of both competitors surrender to the task.
7) Contestants may not damage the machines. Clogged snacks or currency malfunctions will be dealt with by a trained professional. If a contestant damages a machine it will result in immediate disqualification.
8) Contestants will be given an ample supply of water to drink while eating.
9) The escape of bodily fluids during this event will result in a disqualification.
10) An EMT will be on site throughout the course of the event.

Schedule
8.30 PM Attendees will be instructed to arrive
9.15 PM The Exhibition Bout begins
10.15 PM The Main Event begins
12.00 AM All guests leave

**Evil E** · 10-13-2005, 10:17 AM

I thought this would reference something having to do with shaking the shit out of them until you get free food. I used to do that a lot.

**jump** · 10-13-2005, 10:30 AM

Just as it looked as if society was going down hill, something as wonderful as this pops up.

**adam** · 10-13-2005, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by Evil E

I thought this would reference something having to do with shaking the shit out of them until you get free food. I used to do that a lot.

Where I come from, the vending machines are really hard to do that to.

**Spats** · 10-13-2005, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by adam

Where I come from, the vending machines are really hard to do that to.

It's always been an arms race. In college, the popular techniques were:

-Screeching: putting two stripes of clear tape down the length of a dollar bill and off the end, right where the rollers of the bill acceptor went. Bill goes in, gets tallied, bill gets pulled out by the tape tabs. After about a year new bill acceptors came out that snapped a pin down so people couldn't pull the bill back out.

-Hooking: bending a coat-hanger to reach up into the machine and pull the wire spirals outward, dislodging the snacks in front. This only worked on some machines, depending on how the snack door was made, and was very difficult to do well. Usually someone would stand watch while the snack thief banged and clattered around.

-Rocking: just rocking the whole machine back and forth in an effort to dislodge snacks. This didn't work very well, and lost popularity when news reports of people dying from pulling the machine down onto them started showing up.

I never really saw the point in stealing a 50c danish when tuition and bills were well into five figures.

**snow_slider** · 10-13-2005, 12:54 PM

Mamma say vending machines are the debil.

**Tippster** · 10-13-2005, 12:59 PM

That sounds absolutely disgusting. We have pork rinds and the like in our vending machine.

**bagtagley** · 10-13-2005, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by Spats

It's always been an arms race. In college, the popular techniques were:

-Screeching: putting two stripes of clear tape down the length of a dollar bill and off the end, right where the rollers of the bill acceptor went. Bill goes in, gets tallied, bill gets pulled out by the tape tabs. After about a year new bill acceptors came out that snapped a pin down so people couldn't pull the bill back out.

-Hooking: bending a coat-hanger to reach up into the machine and pull the wire spirals outward, dislodging the snacks in front. This only worked on some machines, depending on how the snack door was made, and was very difficult to do well. Usually someone would stand watch while the snack thief banged and clattered around.

-Rocking: just rocking the whole machine back and forth in an effort to dislodge snacks. This didn't work very well, and lost popularity when news reports of people dying from pulling the machine down onto them started showing up.

I never really saw the point in stealing a 50c danish when tuition and bills were well into five figures.

Lame-O!

At my dorm, they'd just put an object (usually a foot) through the glass. This happened three times before they removed the machine all together.