Those of us who have to commute to work all know the boredom of having to wait for a late train or bus. This may still be a problem for most people around the world, but no longer do the people of France need to put up with such an annoyance. Vending machines have been introduced at train stations which give out free short stories for passengers to read as they wait.
As Metro reports, the vending machines were first installed in Grenoble train station a year ago and has since proved to be so popular that the machines have now been introduced to more stations. The stories vary on how long your wait time is (one, three, or five minutes) and are then printed out for passengers to read.
The stories come in a variety of genres, from poetry to children’s stories. Each one is anonymous and, so far, over 5,000 stories have been submitted by writers across France. 24 vending machines have been submitted so far with 11 more planned to be installed by the end of 2016.
The idea was thought up by the publishing house Short Edition. Director Christophe Sibieude stated: “Our ambition is to see distributors pop up everywhere to encourage reading – and writing – and to promote our artists. The paper medium is a breath of fresh air, it’s more unexpected that a smartphone screen.”
Wouldn’t it be brilliant if these vending machines started being introduced to the UK?
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