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. 

Short Story Dispenser at Pleasant Hill BART Station. Photographer: Maria Avila/BART

In unassuming corners of metro and train stations in cities all over the world, beyond the ticket machines and behind the throngs of people, there are vending machines that spit out stories. Even though I’ve apparently walked past one of the short story dispensers installed in four Bay Area Rapid Transit stations several times, I never knew they existed – until last week. 

Image courtesy of the Bay Area Rapid Transit.

Rapid transit riders with a literary bent in San Francisco can compete for a $200 honorarium and the chance to have their stories dispensed in the system's kiosks, according to a press release.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit, which offers riders short stories dispensed from dispensers at certain transit stations, has called for entries for its first short story fiction contest, called "BART Lines," in celebration of the transit system's 50th anniversary.

The Short Édition fiction dispensers print out stories that take one, three or five minutes to read. Courtesy BART / BART

In an attempt to regain attention after a pandemic ridership drop, BART is willing to try anything — including commissioning new literary works.

The transit agency has started soliciting entries for a short fiction contest, the finalists of which will be available via story dispensers on BART platforms to be printed and read during a train ride home.

“(People) don’t think about BART and art. We’re trying to change that,” said BART Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost. “So many transit systems across the world have beautiful art, and we’re trying to find ways we can afford right now to bring art in the stations.