An Automat is a fast food restaurant where foods and drink are served by vending machines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat

by pius • 18 years ago

7 14 18 years ago

en.wikipedia.org

tptacek• 18 years ago

... and?

mechanical_fish• 18 years ago

Maybe these are considered steampunk now?

Am I that old?

Maybe I should be submitting more slide-rule articles. Or, better yet, TMRC's System 2:

http://tmrc.mit.edu/progress/images.tcl?year=2002&month=...

Now that is some awesome old technology. I can't believe the link to the audio file is broken! Thank god I visited TMRC to hear this thing in person before they took it to the museum.

rantfoil• 18 years ago

+1 -- why is this here?

davidw• 18 years ago

A recollection: my wife and I were touring Alhambra (La Alhambra is what the spanish called it, but 'Al' is apparently the article in Arabic, so La Alhambra is a bit redundant) in Spain, and after walking around the whole thing were a bit tired. We walked out past some vending machines to the benches, and glanced at what was on offer: not only candy bars and fizzy drinks, but sandwiches, which we laughed at... who would eat a sandwich that had been sitting around under the Spanish sun all day; either it was chock full of potent chemicals, or it was already growing a disgusting range of nasties. Relaxing on the bench a few minutes later, we noticed a guy walk past, waving a few of the sandwiches, and exclaiming to his wife in a proud tone that he'd found something to eat. I guess the British deserve their reputation for not being picky eaters?

pius• 18 years ago

I was inspired by this:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=316820

Plus, I think it's a cool, old idea that could inspire some new business ideas. Obviously some people found it interesting . . . they upmodded it.

sown2• 18 years ago

If you can reduce McDonald's --or any fast food place's -- costs by X% and/or increase its throughput by Y% by an automated robotic means, you may have a golden business or start up opportunity.

It seems like it should be feasible...

speek• 18 years ago

Why yes, yes it is.

Has anybody seen Dark City? There's a great example of one in there. Its where the guy loses his wallet.

brandnewlow• 18 years ago

That's EXACTLY what I thought of when I saw this post. Great movie.

Flemlord• 18 years ago

They have these everywhere in Europe. And yes, they're as gross as they sound. Apparently Europeans love tasteless sandwiches made up of mostly bread, with a single slice of meat or cheese between the slices. They serve them everywhere, in restaurants, on trains, and in the automats.

RobGR• 18 years ago

I have always wondered why these died out. I have never seen one myself, but they seem the most efficient and streamlined way to run a restaurant. It would possible to provide high-quality food for fast food prices via the this system.

I would make the dining area wrap around the kitchen, and have big windows allowing the diners to see the kitchen, and be assured the food was prepared cleanly.

kingkongrevenge• 18 years ago

There was an article in the NY Times sometime this year about the last one in the US closing down in NYC. You could contact the owner.

josefresco• 18 years ago

The peak of humanities's "do everything from the car" mentality.

twopoint718• 18 years ago

Reminds me of the "ticket" restaurants in Japan.

sown2• 18 years ago

The idea of an automated fast food place sometimes wants to come back.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20030801/1345236_F.shtml

An Automat is a fast food restaurant where foods and drink are served by vending machines.

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