Stupid People Tricks

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Flat Soda

According to soda machine lore it is/was possible to rock a soda machine and get a free soda or money. Modern soda machine design uses a gravity feed system which means the soda (and much of the weight of the machine) is at the top of the machine. Not surprisingly, if you rock a top heavy machine it can tip over.

Documented: People have been injured/killed by rocking a vending machine that falls on them.

In 1995 the Consumer Product Safety Commision was aware of at least 37 deaths and 113 injuries since 1978 that have resulted from consumers rocking or tilting the machines in an attempt to obtain free soda or money. That is an average of 2 deaths and seven injuries per year in that time frame. There are also numerous medical journal articles on the topic, see for example; The Journal of the American Medical Association, 1988 Nov 11; 260(18):2697-9 and The Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, 1989;3(1):64-7 and 1992;6(2):186-9. Why am I not surprised that almost all those injured in this manner are males?

References:

• JAMA Summary
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Vending Machine Alert
• Family sues Coca-Cola over son's death