Last Call: Warm Hot Dog Vending Machines And How They Make Real-Looking Plastic Food

Vending machines in the early- and mid-20th century U.S. and Europe sold fully cooked hotdogs, eggs and potatoes. What happened? https://t.co/zBBq6bF1NS

— Atlas Obscura (@atlasobscura) December 14, 2017

Until now, my favorite non-traditional vending machine was the pink Benefit one parked in airports to save the lives of women like me who forgot to pack mascara for their vacation. But now I have a new beau: the warm hot dog vending machine. According to this Atlas Obscura piece, it existed in the 1940s, but I for one feel it's high time this made a comeback. I hear some of you naysayers already raising the issue of "food safety," as though that's going to dampen my enthusiasm for instant hot dogs from a plastic box. [Kate Bernot]

The Making is the name of a Japanese TV series that illustrates—with no narration and a circa-'90s stock music soundtrack—how your favorite household items are manufactured. There are hundreds of such episodes, and this particularly intriguing one is on how they make the fake plastic food displayed at the entrances of Japanese restaurants. [Kevin Pang]