Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's newest toy: a short story dispenser. (Credit: Thomas Wheatley/Axios)

Thomas here! Before a recent flight to visit my mom, I dropped by Concourse T to check out Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's newest toy: a short story dispenser. 

Why it matters: The Atlanta airport is one of the South's most interesting places, and it's filled with surprises and oddities (those TSA 3D gun holograms, for one).

Here's another.
Zoom in: The unassuming kiosk at T17 prints out the option of a free children's, general audience or Spanish-language story at the push of a button.

Zoom out: French company Short Édition has installed more than 500 of its patented kiosks at locations on five continents, including several U.S. airports.

The short-story vending machine at Edmonton International Airport in Alberta. The stories are free and come in various lengths depending on how long you want to read. (Credit : Edmonton International Airport)

For many travelers, airports are places to pass through as swiftly as possible, not places to savor. The incessant drone of announcements, the frustration of being shut out of increasingly exclusive lounges, the overpriced food, the serpentine lines and the fruitless search for an electrical outlet all can make for a hellish experience.

But every now and then an airport can offer unexpected and delightful amenities that ease travel’s pain points. [...]

Mr. Tsutsui was one of more than 1,300 people who responded when we asked readers to tell us about their favorite airport amenities. Their suggestions included, yes, yoga rooms (at San Francisco International Airport, Chicago Midway International Airport, and Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, among others) but also short-story dispensers, tranquil gardens, even a swimming pool.

Here’s a list that might make your next layover actually enjoyable. [...]

Hit Vending Machines : 
At Edmonton International Airport in Alberta, a kiosk dispenses free short stories of different reading lengths (one, three or five minutes) by local authors, printed on what look like long receipts and available in French or English. The dispenser was created by a French company, Short Édition, that specializes in brief works and is trying to encourage reading for fun (located after security on the departures level by Gate 60).

Certain SEPTA vehicles and stations will be part of an art installation this fall that uses augmented reality to tell stories about the daydreams of public transit riders.

...[Kiosks that include short stories from the project's participants and allows submissions from the general public will be installed at the Philadelphia International Airport, Jefferson Station, Suburban Station, SEPTA headquarters and the Parkway Central Library. The installation is positioned to reach more than 500,000 daily commuters and riders....]

A vending machine of stories that fascinates the world

And Francis Ford Coppola as well

Japan is often referred to as a "vending machine superpower" because of the abundance of vending machines on every street corner. In Europe, on the other hand, vending machines were not popular because of their negative impact on the landscape and environment. However, unique vending machines have appeared in recent years. In France, there is a vending machine that provides you with stories that have fascinated people around the world.

Charles de Gaulle Airport, the gateway to France, is crowded with tourists and business travelers from all over the world. In Terminal 2, there is a station for trains heading to central Paris and other destinations. People were passing the time in the waiting area. Most of them were staring at their smartphone screens.

I like to travel but I’m not a very good packer. Admittedly, I usually forget something and end up having to buy it at the airport or my final destination. That’s usually not a big deal. [...] 

Flying without something to read is unthinkable to me. It used to be that I could count on finding a magazine on the plane, but that’s not always the case now. Since the pandemic, the presence of those in-flight magazines has been hit or miss. Therefore, I have to pick up some reading material at an airport bookshop or newsstand. But if I’m ever flying out of the airport in Wichita, Kansas, I’d have another option: the short story dispenser.

According to the Wichita Public Library, Wichita became one of four cities to receive Short Édition short story dispensers thanks to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2018. 

Wichita engineer Kim Burton, a senior manager in product support for Textron Aviation, was at the Eisenhower National Airport on Wednesday flying out to California to a conference for women in aviation and discovered one of the Wichita Public Library’s sh

Wichita engineer Kim Burton is so popular on TikTok that when asked about views for one video she posted this week, she casually said, “I think we’re at, like, a half million for today.”

Short Story Dispenser

Travelers flying through Eugene Airport can now pick up free reading at a new short story dispenser provided in a partnership between the Airport, Eugene Public Library and Eugene Public Library Foundation.
People of all ages can use a touch-free button to choose Local, International, or For Kids options, then receive a free short story or poem printed on demand like a receipt using ink-free recycled paper. 

BAY AREA - For the past year and a half, BART has actively worked to convert its ridership into a readership with a free in-station short story dispensing system at a handful of stations.

Launched in January 2021, the Short Story Dispenser kiosks have delivered 17,198 short stories to riders at the Richmond, Fruitvale, Balboa Park and Pleasant Hill stations, according to BART officials.

The stories are written to be read within one, three or five minutes and are printed by the no-touch kiosks on recyclable paper, BART officials said in a news release Monday.

"What pushed us to really move this project forward is that the Bay Area has such a wealth of bookstores, readers and writers," said BART Art Program Manager Jennifer Easton.

San Francisco's transit system hopes short stories printed on receipts for riders will benefit both commuters and creative writers.

Do you ever get to the train station and realize you forgot to bring something to read? Yes, we all have our phones, but many of us still like to go old school and read something printed.

Well, there's a kiosk for that. In the San Francisco Bay Area, at least.

Manoj Simha reads a short story distributed by a newly established kiosk at SEPTA’s Tasker-Morris station. Jack Tomczuk

Underground, at the Broad Street Line’s Tasker-Morris station in South Philadelphia, there’s now a mini-library. Riders, by placing their hand over touchless buttons, can now get free short stories, printed on store receipt-like paper. Many of the tales were written by local students.

The kiosks, which are also at the BSL’s Erie station, are part of a campaign unveiled Wednesday to engage kids and families taking SEPTA — and, ultimately, to boost literacy levels among the city’s children.

Many of us have whiled away the minutes on a bus or a train with a book. Now the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, the public transportation authority of San Francisco, is looking to attract riders back to public transportation by distributing short stories at select stations.