There’s nothing worse than having to wait for your train when you’ve forgotten your book, all the free papers have gone, or you just don’t feel like falling down the rabbit hole of the Internet via your smartphone, reports Metro.
Which is why France’s idea to install free short story vending machines is genius.
The idea was trialled a year ago in the country’s Grenoble train station, where it went down so well that they decided to roll it out across more stations.
You simply choose your wait-time – one, three or five minutes – and the machine will dispense a story accordingly. All for free.
The stories are all printed on paper, and topics range from children’s stories to lyrical poetry.
The authors of the stories are all anonymous, and over 5,000 have submitted stories.
The machines have been installed at 24 train stations all over France, with plans to introduce them at a further 11 by the end of the year.