The Vending Machine

I'm sure I will say this over and over again, but America can learn a lot from Europe. They will tell us about something, and we will smack ourselves in the head and say "Why didn't we think of that? It makes so much sense!" One of those things is the vending machine. Brandon LOVES the vending machine. Food, drinks, and entertainment... all in one little package. What more could a boy ask for? Anything that you could possibly need is sold in these machines. Toilet paper, hot dogs, toothbrush, milk, alcohol....you name it, and you can find it here. Heck, they probably even have home loans and vehicles tucked in the corner. It's an amazing piece of machinery. A friend introduced us to the vending machine last week, and Brandon's been hooked ever since. He loves melk (Belgium milk), and they have it in the machine. Now he doesn't want to go to the market to get it any more. It's much more fun to get it this way. I had wondered how they control what you get from the machine (because you can get alcohol and cigarettes from it as well), but I'm told that you have to put your Belgium ID into it before it will give you those items. There is a little chip in the card that it reads. It doesn't just drop the items like the US machines do. It lifts a little metal tub up to them and delicately swipes the items into the tub, and then brings them over to the little scoop on the side. It's genius. When we return to the states, I will start my own vending machine empire. I'll make millions! Kids all over the US will be saying, "Mom, don't we need some milk? Do you have any change?"