In Macau, there are a few prepaid mobile/telephone sim card vending machine when you exit out of the Macau Ferry Terminal.
In Hong Kong, you can buy SIM cards in Tsim Sha Tsui subway station on the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) in Hong Kong. It’s selling SIM cards for mobile phones, both the GSM and the CMDA variety (for those visiting China and wishing to have CDMA). Cards cost mostly HK $100, which is about US$13.
Almost all Hong Kong phones are sold ‘unlocked’ meaning you can switch SIM cards at will.
The first phone call was between Alexander Graham Bell and his assistant, Thomas Watson.
The conversation is “Mr. Watson – come here – I want to see you.”
“Hello” came later On. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, suggested using “ahoy” when answering the phone. It was actually Thomas Edison who suggested using “hello.
The first phone book was only 20 pages long.
One of the first people to have a telephone in their home was American writer Mark Twain.
In the early years of the telephone, switchboard operators would connect calls between two parties. Over time, they were replaced by automatic switchboards.
The first mobile phone available was released in 1983, and it was called the DynaTAC 8000x.
Apart from Japan, there is a similar system set up in France. Two hundred Perspex-fronted, coin-operated compartments are crammed with organic fresh fruit, vegetables, and eggs sourced from the Île-de-France area, no more than 50 kilometres outside of the city.
Producers take up to 50 percent of the proceeds, a far higher cut than what offered by many supermarkets. It was made possible thanks to self-service system and minimal staff expenses.
‘The big distributors have killed small producers in France in the last ten years,’ explains Julian, who began Au Bout Du Champ with friend Joseph. ‘Supermarkets like Monoprix demand cheap prices for food but the fruit and vegetables are not fresh and are imported from places like South America—they’re terrible and it’s not logical. Every weekend, I go to my parent’s house for a traditional Sunday lunch and we always buy well-priced, freshly picked produce from the farmer who has a stall close to the road. In the city there is nowhere to buy such food.’
‘My mum told me it was a bad idea because when she buys vegetables, she likes to speak with the seller. She also likes to touch the tomatoes to feel if they are ready to eat,’ says Julien. ‘I understand but imagine 100 people touching your tomatoes before you buy them—it’s not hygienic.’
‘After a month or so we noticed that because there was no specific relationship between us—the seller—and the buyer, a bond was born between the consumers,’ he adds. ‘The people entering the shop speak with one another about cooking, how the system works, and sometimes team up and divide the contents of each locker depending on what they want. It’s like a community.’
Julien and Joseph’s automats are supplied by not just one, but four producers. The seasonal fruit and veg is sent to the shops every day, equating to about 25 to 20 percent of each farmer’s overall production. Information displayed near each automat explains the farmers’ stories and the philosophy of supporting local businesses. Thanks to the self-service operation, the shops stay open seven days a week—a rarity in Paris.
It’s also about education and showing people how good food is grown, where it comes from, and the value of supporting local economies.
Canon is the first in Hong Kong to install “genuine consumables vending machines” in MTR stations and shopping malls to serve customers better. Simply press a button to choose the right paper or ink and pay with Octopus Card, it is simple and convenient! A toner cartridge collection box is set next to each machine, users can help to save the earth at the same time.
To further facilitate users, Google Map offers search aids for locating Canon’s vending machines. Inputting the keyword “Canon ink” and the locations will be shown instantly in details, making original ink and photo papers purchase trouble-free!
Interesting facts about Printer
Fonts Used To Be Named After People Who Created Them. The best example of this is Garamond which is named after its creator Claude Garamonde who was a famous French printer. Garamond is one of the most economical fonts you can use with regard to saving ink today!
World’s Smallest Printer Measures 1 X 2 X 11 Inches. The smallest printer in the world is known as PrintStik, manufactured by Planon and it measures an amazing 1 inch x 2 inches x 11 inches. This puny little thing is a Bluetooth and mobile printing enabled printer that can be carried in your pocket.
World’s Largest Printer Measures 12 X 50 Metres. While the world’s smallest printer measures 1 inch x 2 inches x 11 inches, the world’s largest printer measures an amazing 12 metres x 50 metres in size. This printer is known as Infinitus and is owned by a company known as Big Image Systems.
Printers Can Be Used To Print Food Too! NASA is even planning to send an advance 3D printer in space to help astronauts in creating shelters and tools!
Stamp vending machines offer a convenient solution for purchasing postage stamps without the need to visit a post office counter. These machines are especially useful in locations where post offices may have limited hours or are not conveniently located.
Key Features:
Variety of Stamps: Stamp vending machines can dispense a range of postage stamps suitable for different needs, such as standard letters, large envelopes, or parcels. Some machines also offer themed or commemorative stamps, which might be of interest to collectors.
Location Flexibility: Stamp vending machines can be placed in various public locations, such as shopping centers, train stations, airports, and post office lobbies. This placement ensures accessibility even outside regular post office hours.
Self-Service Kiosks: Some advanced stamp vending machines function as self-service postal kiosks, offering additional services beyond just selling stamps. These may include weighing packages, calculating postage, printing shipping labels, and accepting parcels for mailing.
Benefits:
Convenience: Provides easy access to stamps at any time, eliminating the need to wait in line at a post office.
Accessibility: Extends postal service availability beyond regular business hours, benefiting those with busy schedules or needing postal services outside normal operating hours.
Efficiency: Reduces the workload on post office staff by handling routine transactions, allowing them to focus on more complex customer service tasks.
Examples and Usage:
Post Office Lobbies: Many post offices have stamp vending machines in their lobbies to serve customers outside of business hours.
Public Spaces: Airports, train stations, and shopping malls often house stamp vending machines to cater to travelers and shoppers who might need to send mail unexpectedly.
Stamp vending machines exemplify how automation can enhance traditional services, making them more accessible and convenient for the general public. By providing essential postal services around the clock, these machines help meet the diverse needs of communities efficiently.
Everyone love ice cream and below is a very cool ice cream vending machine from Fastcorp. Check it out from the video below! You can contact us for more information for this machine in Hong Kong.
Ice Cream Vending Machine
Top 5 Ice Cream Consuming Countries in the world (per capita, gallons per year)
New Zealand (7.5)
United States (5.5)
Australia (4.8)
Finland (3.8)
Sweden (3.8)
Interesting facts about Ice Cream
The world’s tallest ice cream cone was over 9ft tall. It was scooped in Italy.
Most of the vanilla used to make ice cream comes from Madagascar & Indonesia.
Chocolate syrup is the world’s most popular ice cream topping.
About 9% of all milk produced in the US is used to make ice cream.
It takes about 50 licks to finish a single scoop (ice cream cone)
The perfect temperature for scopping ice cream is between 6 and 10 degree fahrenheit.
The most popular flavor is vanilla, then chocolate.
Chocolate ice cream was invented before vanilla.
Vanilla was rare and exotic in the late 1700’s.
Ice cream in America in the 1700’s was rare and enjoyed by the elite.
1 in 10 people admit to licking the bowl clean after eating ice cream.
1 in 5 people share with their pet.
Some of the strangest flavors found are: avocado, garlic, chili, licorice, Stilton cheese, and bacon.
Ice cream headaches or “brain freeze” is the result of the nerve endings in the roof of your mouth sending a message to your brain of the loss of heat.
It takes 12 pounds of milk to produce just 1 gallon of ice cream.
The first written ice cream recipe was found in a 1665 recipe book
Producers who rely on honesty boxes for farm gate sales are all too often left out of pocket when would-be customers walk off with their eggs or other produce without paying. It just doesn’t work.
The machine offered farmers some security against opportunist thieves who took advantage of honesty boxes. It can be tailored to suit any size of operation and it can vend anything from eggs to vegetables and potatoes.
In the US, Glaum Egg Ranch in Santa Cruz County, California was one of the earliest adopters, dispensing eggs with a side of entertainment. When customers purchase eggs, they’re also treated to an animatronic show complete with singing and dancing chickens.
New York decided to implement a vending machine program that was somewhere between practical and publicity stunt.
Machines at rest stops are now selling items ranging from Red Jacket Orchard juices from Geneva, New York to Finger Lakes Fresh apple slices from Groton and Sweet Sam’s cookies from the Bronx.
New York has installed 10 machines throughout the state and hopes to install more if they prove popular. This marks the first time local-fare vending machines have been sponsored by the public sector.
Vending machines have a number of advantages over brick-and-mortar stores or even farmers markets. There’s no need to pay an employee to run the register and, unlike a weekly market, the machines can run 24/7 in many locations at once.
The vending machines also boost farm income and offer a bit of brand recognition. Visitors who see a farm’s name in a vending machine might be moved to take part in a farm tour or seek out their products elsewhere.
Interesting facts about Eggs
Harriet, a hen from the United Kingdom, laid the world’s largest egg in 2010. Her astonishing egg measured 9.1 inches in diameter.
It takes a hen between 24 and 26 hours to develop an egg. Once she lays an egg, the development of a new egg normally starts within 30 minutes.
Chickens don’t produce one egg at a time. Instead, producing hens normally have several eggs in various stages of development.
There are several reasons why commonly we eat chicken eggs instead of duck or turkey eggs. Chickens lay more eggs, they need less nesting space, and they don’t have the strong mothering instincts of turkeys and ducks, which makes egg collection easier.
White eggs are more popular among commercial producers because chickens that lay white eggs tend to be smaller than their brown egg-laying cousins, therefore needing less food to produce the same number of eggs.
The business, Beverly Hills Caviar, is owned by husband and wife team Kelly Stern and Brian Scheiner, who both come from long lines of Eastern European “caviar families.”
The idea of selling caviar from a vending machine may seem offbeat, but Stern says it’s a business model that works. While the machines definitely attract a curious audience, there are also caviar aficionados, including chefs, who come with their credit cards in hand.
“We actually patented the technology because it was so time-intensive and we needed so many engineers just to get it done right,” says Stern.
The machine has security measures with three cameras as the daily inventory adds up to around $50,000. Caviar emerges from the vending machine in a specially designed insulated box, which provides a window of about three hours to get it back in a fridge or onto your plate.
By the time you get home it’s usually just perfect and you can eat it, and it will be the tastiest thing you ever had.
Stern
Fun Facts about Caviar
Caviar is made from fish eggs, in some cases called ‘roe’, and the finest, made from Sturgeon eggs comes in 4 main ranges: Beluga, Ossetra, Sterlet and Sevruga.
Eggs from the Beluga Sturgeon are the largest and have a creamy flavor and vary in color from light to dark gray.
The majority of Sturgeon eggs come from the seas around Russia and Iran, although recently the United States and China have actually begun farming their own Sturgeon fish to produce their own caviars.
Professionals state the very best caviar originates from wild Sturgeon, both tasting and looking much better than roe from farmed fish. That stated, nevertheless, farmed caviar is ending up being more popular with consumers and chefs alike and generally costs less than the wild variety.
The traditional Italian way of cooking pasta is known as ‘al dente’.
Al dente pasta not only tastes better, it keeps you full longer.
If pasta is cooked properly, it should stick to a wall when it is thrown.
There are approximately 350 shapes of pasta.
The average Italian eats 60 pounds of pasta per year.
And a typical portion is only 100 grams.
October 25 is World Pasta Day.
Most dried pastas are made with only two ingredients, Semolina flour and water.
Flour + water = paste = pasta.
The first reference to pasta, in a book, was in 1154.
The three most popular pastas’ are: penne, spaghetti and macaroni.
The three most popular pasta dishes are: macaroni cheese, spaghetti bolognaise and lasagne.
Uncooked dry pasta can be kept for up to a year.
Cooked pasta can be frozen and re-eaten within three months.
It was traditionally eaten by hand.
One cup of cooked pasta is the size of your fist.
Pasta has many health benefits, as it is low in calorific value and contains various nutrients and minerals.
Pasta can also be given to dogs and cats. It’s believed in helps them in their growth development and to help their coats glossy and healthy.
People were once fooled into thinking spaghetti grew on trees. April 1 in 1957, the BBC made everyone believe that spaghetti grows on trees. At the time, spaghetti was considered by many as an exotic delicacy. The spoof programme explained how severe frost can impair the flavour of the spaghetti and how each strand of spaghetti always grows to the same length. This is believed to be one of the first times television was used to stage an April Fools Day hoax.
Farmer’s Fridge sells restaurant-quality salads and snacks and donates all of the unsold food at the end of each day to a local food pantry.
The trend to eat clean is growing in popularity by the day, which is why Luke Saunders of Chicago was inspired to found an innovative type of vending machine that serves only healthy fare and treats.
Saunders founded Farmer’s Fridge, which is a healthy vending machine that sells exclusively organic, restaurant-quality salads and snacks. This first of many kiosks was placed in a dreary food court and was an almost immediate hit.
The rustic-looking yet modern vending machine is made from reclaimed wood and is surrounded by real plants with a carpet of artificial grass. Every morning at 10 a.m., the kiosk is stocked with an array of fresh salads and snacks (mostly organic) prepared shortly before at a nearby kitchen.
Excitingly, whatever is left at the end of the day gets donated to a local food pantry.
Saunders envisioned the idea when he was traveling for his former corporate job and was burdened by not being able to obtain healthy, organic produce from popular fast food chains. He decided he needed to “be the change,” therefore, followed through with the plan to found Farmer’s Fridge.
My realization was that I could make fresh food and put it in a vending machine without adding any preservatives or other junk and it would taste good. We want everything to be in the running for ‘the best salad I ever had’. If it’s not that good, we’re not going to put it in there.”
Saunders
Farmer’s Fridge protects the quality and integrity of the food by staying away from items that don’t lend themselves to staying fresh and tasty in a refrigerated vending machine. That means there are no sandwiches, but plenty of salads and sides packed into recyclable plastic jars.
The ingredients in each product are stacked in an order specifically intended to keep the salad fresh: greens on top, cheeses and water-retaining fruits on the bottom, nuts in the middle.
The result is a diverse menu that ranges from “The Cheater,” a modified classic Cobb salad, to “The Junk Food Eraser,” a detox salad stuffed full of kale, quinoa, sprouts, fennel, blueberries and pineapple with a cider vinegar-lemons dressing on the side.
Other items, such as lemon-pepper chicken tuna and tofu are also available.
Benefit of eating Salad
Eating salad offers numerous health benefits due to its typically high content of vegetables, fruits, and other nutritious ingredients. Here are some key advantages:
Rich in Nutrients: Salads can be a fantastic source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Ingredients like leafy greens (e.g., spinach, kale), tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers provide essential nutrients that support various bodily functions.
High in Fiber: Many salad ingredients are rich in dietary fiber, which is beneficial for digestive health. Fiber aids in maintaining bowel regularity and can help prevent constipation. It also contributes to a feeling of fullness, which can assist with weight management.
Supports Weight Loss: Salads, especially those without heavy dressings or high-calorie additions, tend to be low in calories but high in volume thanks to their water and fiber content. This combination helps you feel full while consuming fewer calories compared to higher-calorie meals.
Heart Health: Leafy greens and other vegetables contain compounds that can contribute to heart health by helping reduce blood pressure, lowering cholesterol levels, and improving arterial function. Additionally, using healthy fats like avocado or olive oil in salads can further benefit heart health.
Boosts Hydration: Due to the high water content in many vegetables, salads can contribute to your daily fluid intake, supporting hydration, which is important for overall health and well-being.
Improves Skin Health: The vitamins and antioxidants found in fresh produce can promote healthier skin. For example, vitamin C plays a crucial role in collagen production, while beta-carotene (found in carrots and sweet potatoes) can improve skin health and protect against sun damage.
Increases Vegetable Intake: Incorporating salads into your diet is an easy way to increase your vegetable consumption, helping meet recommended daily intakes. Eating a variety of vegetables ensures a diverse nutrient profile.
While salads offer these benefits, it’s important to be mindful of what goes into them. Opting for lighter dressings, avoiding excessive amounts of high-fat toppings, and including a wide range of colorful vegetables will maximize the health benefits of your salad.
