Vending machines are everywhere selling a variety of goods from toys to t-shirts, but we never thought we would see the day that pizza would be sold using a vending machine.
Welcome to 2021 folks.
Early this summer, hot pizza vending machines were set up across all of Rome. The red vending machines known as Mr. Go Pizza, allow you to select from four different toppings, costing anywhere between 4.50 to 6 Euros for each slice.
Via a completely automated system; all the customer has to do is choose the flavour (the flavours are Margherita, spicy salami, bacon, or four kinds of cheese), insert money, and press a button. The vending machine takes care of the rest. As the machine kneads and tops the dough, customers can watch the pizza cook behind a small glass window. And you don’t have to wait long either— according to CNN, it takes roughly three minutes to prepare.
But it’s not just Italy that has pizza vending machines, they are now popping up around the world including in the United States. As CNN wrote, Raffaele Esposito, the 19th century Neapolitan credited with inventing Italy's most famous type of pizza, must be turning in his grave right now.
Of course, the new vending machines have received somewhat of a backlash with some arguing it is another example of robots taking jobs away from humans. Meanwhile, others say that the installation of the first pizza vending machine could be an important step forward in the automation process of the food sector.
Whatever the case, it should be noted that this is not nearly the strangest thing you can buy through a vending machine. The first vending machine reportedly started in Egypt, dispensing holy water to patrons of a temple. The concept later became England’s popular way of selling cigarettes and snuff. Now vending machines around the world sell everything including gold, caviar, hair extensions, champagne, lingerie, cupcakes and so much more.
