Scribbling out a welcome sign on crumpled paper from your backseat usually doesn’t promote a warm welcome, so that’s why Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport is ready to help you out.

Those tasked with picking up loved ones—or the company CEO—now have a new option at the airport. AMS just installed some sort of banner-making vending machine; so all you have to do is pop in a few euros and pick out your salutations.

BannerXpress is the company behind the idea, and they’re thinking about expanding the fun to more airports, stadiums, and other spots. Users are welcome to select all kinds of different things to create their custom sign including font size, colors, and background images. It’s not cheap at €15, but after waiting three hours instead of 15 minutes to pick up a pal, we probably couldn’t resist taking the machine for a test drive.

[Photo: The Consortium] ]]> kjb 2011-12-07T09:24:30-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/26/74751/6023

Those arriving in Paris for the very first time might immediately search out the Eiffel Tower or The Louvre, but if you’d prefer a tastier first impression of course there’s always the baguette. Finding a freshly baked loaf of bread as soon as you land might soon be a reality, as Jean-Louis Hecht has created one of the greatest inventions of our time—the fresh baked baguette vending machine.

Alright, we might be slightly exaggerating, but still this is pretty clever and fairly awesome. Especially for times when running to the local boulangerie isn’t an option, like during long stretches over the summer when it seems like the whole country heads out on vacation. ]]> kjb 2011-08-26T09:48:07-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/7/14/133216/715

Ok so there's moose droppings in the gift shop at Toronto's Pearson International Airport but in the ladies room we also found a very convenient all-in-one vending machine.

Why bother with expensive gift shop sundries when for just a loonie coin you can get Tylenol, tattoos, latex condoms, tampons, maxi pads and breath freshener. You can even get an Alfred Sung and Eternity imposter perfumes. (Dammit, we should not have splurged on Chanel No. 5 in the duty-free store!)

But we have to say, we're slightly disappointed there's no pregnancy tests available here. When you gotta know, you gotta know!

Seen some quirky vending machines in airports? Send 'em to us!

Related Stories:
· Moose Droppings for Sale at Toronto's Airport [Jaunted]
· Look What We Found in The Airport Bathroom for Diez Pesos [Jaunted]]]> juliana 2010-07-14T16:31:07-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/6/21/162735/902

We've seen vending machines at airports peddling everything from Kosher food to gold bars, and yet this Rosetta Stone vending machine at Orlando International Airport completely took us by surprise last weekend.

It makes perfect sense to be selling the expensive (but comprehensive) language learning courses at an airport, but why in the terminal with the flights from Southwest and Jetblue? They aren't exactly flying to Europe or Asia or anything. That said, these are selling as when we passed back by this machine on our flight out of MCO, we noticed that a few more languages had sold out.

Would you buy a language learning course from an airport vending machine like this?Let us know in comments below!

Related Stories:
· Where to Find One of the WOrld's First Gold Bar Vending Machines [Jaunted]
· Keeping Kosher at JFK [Jaunted]
· Airport News [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jaunted] ]]> JetSetCD 2010-06-21T16:55:55-05:00 28.4313828 -81.308437 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/13/165021/31

Yesterday we were making our way out of Guadalajara and decided to hit up the bathrooms at the airport right before boarding our plane. Having just finished some enchiladas at the Wings restaurant (we passed on the Chili's chain), our breath was feeling less than fresh which is why we were pleased to see this vending machine inside the ladies bathroom.

For diez pesos, which is something like 75 cents, you can buy a Brushito, an "On the Go" toothbrush set complete with a fold-up toothbrush, a flosser and a mini, mini-tube of toothpaste. (If Barbie bought Costco-sized toothpaste, it would look like this.) And it even comes in little plastic balls, like the ones you used to lust after as a kid. You know, at the grocery store where, for 25 cents you'd get one of these plastic balls that held either a spider ring or a wash-off mermaid tattoo.

Even though we had packed a toothbrush and toothpaste in our carry-on, we couldn't resist buying our very own toothbrush ball, despite the unfortunate name of Brushito. Yet we sort of think all restaurant and airport bathrooms should have these. Fresh breath for all!

Related Stories:
· It's Hard to Sign On at Guadalajara Airport [Jaunted]]]> juliana 2009-10-13T17:00:11-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/18/164915/877

Looks like the Germans have lost their faith in paper currency (again) these days. How else to explain the Gold to Go dispensers in the Frankfurt Airport? The Times UK reports:

After inserting your euros in the slot there is a familiar whirring noise as if the machine is readying itself to spit out a can of lemonade or a bar of chocolate. Instead there is a satisfying clunk as a prettily wrapped bar of the world's favourite precious metal thuds into the dispenser.

"It's better value than the bank," Romy Erhardt of TG-Gold-Super-Markt told The Times, "And it's very convenient — no waiting time — you just put in your cash and a minute later you are an investor in gold."

Passengers can buy passengers one gram, five grams or 10 grams of gold starting at about 30 Euros. While the value is better than the bank, passengers will still pay a bit more than market value. C'mon its a gold vending machine. That's expected.

The company has already installed a similar machine in Frankfurt's main train station and plans to put 500 more of the machines throughout the country as well as in Austria and Switzerland. While passengers at the Frankfurt Airport can also get a Maple Leaf Five Canadian dollar coin and a Kangaroo Fifteen Australian dollar coin, we're still tickled by the idea of a vending machine spitting out a real gold bar placed in a metal case that reads, "My Golden Treasure."

Related Stories:
· Germans flock to gold bars vending machine at Frankfurt airport [Times UK]
· Gold Mining Map [Jaunted]
· Gold Super Markt [Official Site, German]]]> juliana 2009-06-18T17:01:07-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/2/24/05127/3017

Notoriously awash with tourists, the Acqua Alta and Bellinis, Venice is about to add Coca-Cola to the mix as the city's official soft drink. Of course in a city that has a love-hate relationship with modernity, the multi-million dollar deal between Venice's mayor and Coke isn't going over very swimmingly.

According to the BBC, in an attempt to supplement the meager government funds earmarked for conservation, the city will receive $2.7 million from Coke for installing "sixty vending machines which will sell the drink all over the city, including at the main waterbus stations and reportedly even St Mark's Square, where a city ordinance already forbids picnicking by tourists." ]]> JetSetCD 2009-02-24T09:01:10-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/