getting the most for your money
Just went to do a load of laundry and realized I was terribly short on quarters. The washing machines here are crappy and charge 5 quarters to boot. The dryer is only slightly less crazy charging 4 quarters. That makes a load of laundry $2.25 in quarters, not something to undertake without a change machine. Which happens to be the case.
What did I do? I scrounged up five quarters like a the rat I am and started my wash cycle. I noticed a soda machine in the room and began to investigate it as a source for quarters. Each soda was $.60, meaning you would only get one quarter if you baught a soda for a dollar. I returned to my room and got five dollars in dimes. Time for some experimenting.
What did I discover? The machine cleverly keeps your change somewhere and will return the same coins you put in if you hit the "give my back my shit" button. No way to convert to quarters there. If you make a transaction, however, change must be caculated, and the machine dispenses change out of its stores. Unfortunately the machine was (quite cleverly) programmed to stop excepting money once it has reached the soda price. The solution? Pay $.35 in change (or more, but less than $.60) and then insert a dollar bill. Your total will go up to $1.35 or higher, and you will get three quarters for each soda you buy. Since dimes are worthless anyway this works out to a $.25 soda and 3 quarters change to use for laundry. Now a set of laundry is conveniently a multiple of $.75, so three sodas and I can run the wash.
This is a pain in the ass, however, as I don't drink soda. My brother goes to a laundrimat somewhere, I think I might start going too.
Impressions? Tricks you know for soda machines? Is there any way to trick it into thinking it made a transaction without buying anything?
What did I do? I scrounged up five quarters like a the rat I am and started my wash cycle. I noticed a soda machine in the room and began to investigate it as a source for quarters. Each soda was $.60, meaning you would only get one quarter if you baught a soda for a dollar. I returned to my room and got five dollars in dimes. Time for some experimenting.
What did I discover? The machine cleverly keeps your change somewhere and will return the same coins you put in if you hit the "give my back my shit" button. No way to convert to quarters there. If you make a transaction, however, change must be caculated, and the machine dispenses change out of its stores. Unfortunately the machine was (quite cleverly) programmed to stop excepting money once it has reached the soda price. The solution? Pay $.35 in change (or more, but less than $.60) and then insert a dollar bill. Your total will go up to $1.35 or higher, and you will get three quarters for each soda you buy. Since dimes are worthless anyway this works out to a $.25 soda and 3 quarters change to use for laundry. Now a set of laundry is conveniently a multiple of $.75, so three sodas and I can run the wash.
This is a pain in the ass, however, as I don't drink soda. My brother goes to a laundrimat somewhere, I think I might start going too.
Impressions? Tricks you know for soda machines? Is there any way to trick it into thinking it made a transaction without buying anything?