France Now Has Oyster Vending Machines

The French have once again invented something irrefutably French: a 24-hour oyster vending machine. Of course the machines are refrigerated, and they also have glass walls so consumers can choose which oysters they want. One farmer, Tony Berthelot (who has a machine on Ile de Re island, off France's western coast) says the idea was born from "losing lots of sales when we are closed," he tells Reuters. "There was a cost involved when buying this machine, of course, but we're paying it back in installments... And today, in theory, we can say that the calculations are correct and it's working."