Article says there was little oxygen in the machine ... wtf those things are airtight? It's a freaking vacuum inside?

Oooooo, poor parenting!

I would leave him in there overnight to contemplate his poor impulse control.

/oblig

I was staying at a Holliday Inn when I was about 9 or 10 with my mother, stepfather, step brother (who was a year younger than me), and step sister (year older than me). This was in the late 80's so they had an arcade room. My step brother and I asked for money to go play games and our folks gave us about $5 each. Well, after we spent all of our money playing video games in about 15 minutes, we were bored and kinda loitering around the arcade area when I noticed a broken plastic coat hanger under the crane machine. It was broken perfectly so that I could stick my skinny arm up through the prize slot and reach anything in the machine with a hooked end of this broken hangar. I started emptying the machine as onlookers cheered me on, with kids asking for prizes as well as adults. This thing had stuffed animals, 24K gold chains, and all sorts of goodies in it. I don't remember where we got two black garbage backs from, but we each had so much crap from this machine we hauled it back up to our room, each of us with a rather full black garbage back full of loot, proudly proclaiming, "look what we won!!". Our parents were skeptical, asking how we could have possibly won all of that with the crane machine (which doesn't grab shiat) with a total of about $10. We tried to play it off like, "the crane just went crazy, it was picking up like 3 or 4 things at a time!", which of course they thought was a load of crap and thus, we were forced to admit what we had done and return all of the goodies to the kid at the checkout counter on behalf of the vending company.

Once inside, he quickly began to establish his generosity, emptying the machine of toys to a crowd of children gathered outside and then starting to eat the lollies in the machine.

This kid is already sticking it to the man, nice.

GameSprocket: Oooooo, poor parenting!

FTFA:

"The boy had to be coxed to climb back down the chute"

I'll say...........

garbage BAGS rather.

TravisBickle62: Article says there was little oxygen in the machine ... wtf those things are airtight? It's a freaking vacuum inside?

I wondered the same thing, I mean it's a cute story why ham it up to add an element of danger when there isn't any? If really necessary just comment about the heat because it probably was quite warm in the machine. Also don't they have to add toys to the machine? Couldn't they have just opened the top where they put the toys in rather than yank him out through the dispenser?

Pedpbear wasted $25.00 in quarters before he figured out he couldn't get the kid out to play with.

Five bucks says big brother was the one who shoved him up there. I can't see a three year old doing this alone.

2wolves: Couldn't they have just opened the top where they put the toys in rather than yank him out through the dispenser?

It's possible that it's serviced similar to how vending machines are serviced, by the owner/lessor rather than the lessee.

In unrelated new, 25 year old squeezing into Lotus Elise to gain micro-sized toy prize from driver.

amp82deuce: [shadesofcaruso.files.wordpress.com image 512x288]

/oblig

"These toys may smell of wee come the morn."

/Came here for this, leaving satisfied.

So they let their 3 year old wonder off for more than 10 min? Hell I don't let mine out of my sight when I go out to eat.

Lots of comments here from people who obviously have O children.

Look, they're giving away a perfectly good white boy!

Good thing there wasn't a loose seal inside with him.

Egoy3k: Couldn't they have just opened the top where they put the toys in rather than yank him out through the dispenser?


I bet the company that actually owns the machines has a lock on the top - or some kind of proprietary bolt - so that the folks onsite can't get in there. Otherwise some teenage kid working on site for the summer might empty the thing out one night, or pick out all the choice bits.

"Hold my beer and watch this"

Cute story but I am trying desperately to figure out how to make an insulting comment about conservatives and/or flyover states...

"Took firefighters three hours and $90.00 in quarters to retrieve the boy."

TravisBickle62: Article says there was little oxygen in the machine ... wtf those things are airtight? It's a freaking vacuum inside?

I would think the top part would be basically airtight, there's no reason to put holes. There would be air exchange through the mechanism in the bottom but it's not designed for ventilation.

TNel: So they let their 3 year old wonder off for more than 10 min? Hell I don't let mine out of my sight when I go out to eat.

Yeah, parenting fail.

Sorry. Where I come from, that's not cute, that's THEFT.

FTFA: Once inside, he quickly began to establish his generosity, emptying the machine of toys to a crowd of children gathered outside...

The kid is clearly a socialist.

Krusty's Wench: Sorry. Where I come from, that's not cute, that's THEFT.

Where I come from, that would get you called a poopie head by the 3 year old.

RobSeace: /I know, it didn't happen in the USA or it might've gone that way...

It couldn't have happened in North America our kids are too fat to fit into the machine.

NeoKast: snip.

Haha. That's awesome.

But good on your parents for 1) Not being gullible idiots, and 2) ethical stand up people.

C'mon mom. When you want to ignore your kid for extended periods, do what the pros do:

chloroform
car trunk

It's CSB time:

I was eating at a local comfort food joint a few months ago that has a crane machine in its lobby.

An old bearded gentleman walked in -- straight to the crane machine -- and plunked in a quarter. A few deft turns of the controls later, he had a stuffed toy dropped into the chute. He deposited another quarter ... almost immediately, he had another stuffed toy. And he kept putting in quarters and taking out toys. He only failed to retrieve a toy once or twice.

He was just that good with the crane; he was not cheating the system in any way.

Then -- about fifteen minutes after he'd walked in (and by this time, nearly everyone in the restaurant had noticed his skilled display) -- he went from table to table, giving the stuffed toys away to random women and children. And then he left.

noazark: It's CSB time:

I was eating at a local comfort food joint a few months ago that has a crane machine in its lobby.

An old bearded gentleman walked in -- straight to the crane machine -- and plunked in a quarter. A few deft turns of the controls later, he had a stuffed toy dropped into the chute. He deposited another quarter ... almost immediately, he had another stuffed toy. And he kept putting in quarters and taking out toys. He only failed to retrieve a toy once or twice.

He was just that good with the crane; he was not cheating the system in any way.

Then -- about fifteen minutes after he'd walked in (and by this time, nearly everyone in the restaurant had noticed his skilled display) -- he went from table to table, giving the stuffed toys away to random women and children. And then he left.

Creepy story, Bro.

noazark: It's CSB time:

I was eating at a local comfort food joint a few months ago that has a crane machine in its lobby.

An old bearded gentleman walked in -- straight to the crane machine -- and plunked in a quarter. A few deft turns of the controls later, he had a stuffed toy dropped into the chute. He deposited another quarter ... almost immediately, he had another stuffed toy. And he kept putting in quarters and taking out toys. He only failed to retrieve a toy once or twice.

He was just that good with the crane; he was not cheating the system in any way.

Then -- about fifteen minutes after he'd walked in (and by this time, nearly everyone in the restaurant had noticed his skilled display) -- he went from table to table, giving the stuffed toys away to random women and children. And then he left.


I want to be like that when I get old. Errrr..... oldER, I guess.

NASAM: NeoKast: snip.

Haha. That's awesome.

But good on your parents for 1) Not being gullible idiots, and 2) ethical stand up people.

Not sure. I can see an argument for letting them keep the toys n' shiat. It's all well and good to teach your children to be ethical stand up people but those claw machines are designed so the house wins; finding a solution so YOU win is a commendable trait. It's teaching them about how the adult world works whilst still having training wheels on.

But next time, don't get greedy or caught.

C'mon guys, he was only 3

still, I can't help but feel a "dumbass" tag would be more appropriate

GBB: Creepy story, Bro.


Yeah... Charity without doing it specifically for self aggrandizement is so creepy, right? Who'd want to just give things away to people without it ultimately being for personal gain? That sounds so socialist, like Jesus or something. Commies.

NeoKast: I was staying at a Holliday Inn when I was about 9 or 10 with my mother, stepfather, step brother (who was a year younger than me), and step sister (year older than me). This was in the late 80's so they had an arcade room. My step brother and I asked for money to go play games and our folks gave us about $5 each. Well, after we spent all of our money playing video games in about 15 minutes, we were bored and kinda loitering around the arcade area when I noticed a broken plastic coat hanger under the crane machine. It was broken perfectly so that I could stick my skinny arm up through the prize slot and reach anything in the machine with a hooked end of this broken hangar. I started emptying the machine as onlookers cheered me on, with kids asking for prizes as well as adults. This thing had stuffed animals, 24K gold chains, and all sorts of goodies in it. I don't remember where we got two black garbage backs from, but we each had so much crap from this machine we hauled it back up to our room, each of us with a rather full black garbage back full of loot, proudly proclaiming, "look what we won!!". Our parents were skeptical, asking how we could have possibly won all of that with the crane machine (which doesn't grab shiat) with a total of about $10. We tried to play it off like, "the crane just went crazy, it was picking up like 3 or 4 things at a time!", which of course they thought was a load of crap and thus, we were forced to admit what we had done and return all of the goodies to the kid at the checkout counter on behalf of the vending company.

CSB. So refreshing to hear of good parents. I hope that would be the norm.

Leave him there.

If anyone else wants him bad enough, they'll play.