Instead of snack foods, and soft drinks, commuters that ride the bus, tram or metro can grab a free short-story for their trip. There are eight of these short story vending machines in Grenoble, France and readers can push a button and a story unrolls, literally. Printing out on a roll of paper much like a store receipt, can opt for 1 minute, 3 minutes or 5 minutes of story.
Co-founder Quentin Pleple says more than 10,000 stories have been printed since the programs initial launch just two weeks ago. In an effort to make the grind of daily commuting more pleasant, the stories fill the “dead time”.
Pleple said; “The feedback we got has been overwhelmingly positive [and] we are thrilled to see it working so well. There are only eight dispensers in the city of Grenoble for now but we are planning to introduce way more. We are getting requests from all over the world – Australia, the US, Canada, Russia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Chile, Taiwan – that we are processing meticulously one by one.”
The stories are taken from Short Edition’s community website where the communities 142,000 members select the stories that will be included in the vending machines. “In a society where daily lives are moving quicker and quicker and where time is becoming precious. In the bus, the tram or the metro, everyone can make the most of these moments to read short stories, poems or short comics. And they can be sure to enjoy the ending,” said Short Edition.
Currently, users cannot select the genre of the story only the length.
