Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Random Moth Dispensers for Cash Machines

  (+55, -1)(+55, -1)(+55, -1)
(+55, -1)
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It's a Friday evening and you've just finished work, so of course you head for the nearest cash machine to see if you can afford a pint or two in your favourite pub tonight. In goes the card, a couple of button presses later and you've reached the moment of truth... Will you get your money or will you have to go home and eat that last packet of noodles?

The brief buzz of a hidden printer, the whir of activated machinery, the anticipation of having that clean, crisp twenty pound note in your hand any second now...

Your hand reaches toward the slot at the exact moment that the little metal door slides back to offer forth...

...nothing but a small and rather confused moth, which flutters away in the breeze as your heart sinks to roughly a foot below the level of the pavement. Noodles it is, then!

Normally if you don't have enough money in your account the cash machine will say something like "Unable to carry out this transaction". This idea proposes a more novel and amusing way to tell you that you've got no money.

One out of every 100 cash machines should be fitted with a Random Moth Dispenser. If you try to withdraw more cash than you've got, you face a 1 per cent chance that instead of simply refusing, the cash machine will go through all the motions of dispensing money only to release a moth.

The Random Moth Dispenser consists of a conveniently sized module containing a supply of hibernating moths along with a solenoid-driven mechanism for releasing them one at a time into the cash slot. As the moth is ejected, the light and warmth of the outside world wake it from its hibernation and it flies away, to the great amusement of those behind you in the queue.

The same people who top up the cash and retrieve the printed records are also responsible for moving the Random Moth Dispensers from machine to machine and replenishing the moth supply. Refilling can be achieved simply if the moths are provided on reels similar to those used for manufacturing electronic products.

Wrongfellow, Aug 06 2007

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       Wrongfellow appears to have misunderstood what was happening when I last visited the cashpoint. The moths were actually from my wallet, not the machine.
vincevincevince, Aug 06 2007
  

       Welcome to the halfbakery! [+]
nuclear hobo, Aug 06 2007
  

       Spin-off benefit ... once tape-and-reel moths are widely available, I'm sure other uses will be found, especially on the halfbakery.
batou, Aug 06 2007
  

       [Wrongfellow], you've got a very right idea. Clever. I likes it. Welcome to the 'bakery. +
k_sra, Aug 06 2007
  

       Excellent idea fellow. Love the imagery of a moth coming from the cash slot of the machine.   

       Really, a harmless funny way to notify the ATM user of there account status. Bun to you Sir [+]
evilpenguin, Aug 06 2007
  

       Lovely. This would be particularly nice if there was, suspended from a Victorian wrought iron arm a few feet above the cash machine, a white frosted globe streetlight, to attrach the moth for (a) easy recapture and (b) to circle your bowed head, the moth occaisonally dinking quietly into the glass.
calum, Aug 06 2007
  

       yes, i agree, let's have a Dickensian light overhead. you can add that as your subtitle...
k_sra, Aug 06 2007
  

       This could be augmented by the sound of crickets chirping. +
globaltourniquet, Aug 06 2007
  

       [Rightfellow]   

       +
wagster, Aug 06 2007
  

       Bats Moth. Oops, sorry I can't help that reflex.
The Kat, Aug 06 2007
  

       Ignore the autoboner... they visit everyone then skulk back to the cyberswamp. (+)
xenzag, Aug 06 2007
  

       Nice. Plus +.
gnomethang, Aug 06 2007
  

       Maybe the occasional mothball could just roll out of the atm and then bounce off of the pavement and down the street +
skinflaps, Aug 07 2007
  

       What's that acronym thing people write in cases like this? WIGTNFI...? Or something? [wags] you know what I'm talking about, right?
theleopard, Aug 07 2007
  

       WTAGIPBAN   

       It's the film one I can never remember.
wagster, Aug 07 2007
  

       If one has a lot of $$ in their account, can they get a beautiful butterfly?
xandram, Aug 07 2007
  

       [Beep] Then what about people who bun bad ideas?
...just a thought. It's like *beauty is in the eye of the beholder*. I really don't think there is just *one* person as the autoboner; it's just the odds that there is at least one person who doesn't like somthing.
...just a thought.
xandram, Aug 07 2007
  

       bun. An additional wrinkle would be to pause for a certain length of time before either giving you the money or releasing the moth. The lower your bank balance, the longer the pause.
bumhat, Aug 07 2007
  

       Wow! Thanks for the warm welcome.   

       More ideas on their way...
Wrongfellow, Aug 08 2007
  

       Beauty is in the eye of the bee holder? There's an idea in there somewhere. [+]
ed, Aug 08 2007
  

       [ed] If that's the case, why aren't hives considered attractive?
marklar, Aug 08 2007
  

       I like my coffee like I like my women... er ... COVERED IN BEES!!!
theleopard, Aug 08 2007
  

       + surely 1/100 isn't often enough, seeing moths would alleviate some of the depression of being broke, and once every three months or so won't cheer up the general population much.
excitations, Aug 08 2007
  

       //Beauty is in the eye of the bee holder? There's an idea in there somewhere. [+]// [ed] you are right. If the ATM is so small that only one person can stand, tthen, upon attempting a wrong password 3 times, a stinger bee iis dispensed
kamathln, Sep 09 2007
  

       [kamathln] and a dollop of jam is dispensed from the ceiling.
marklar, Sep 09 2007
  

       I'm not sure why, but it feels like there should be a tumbleweed worked in here somehow...
James Newton, Sep 10 2007
  
      
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