News

Teen's Genius Vending Machine Locker Means You'll Never Go Without Study Snacks

Students have pretty hectic schedules.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that a lot of busy students save themselves the hassle of waiting in line at the cafeteria by stocking their dorms and lockers with snacks.

Remember when we showed you that brilliant human being who turned an ice machine into an epic frozen pizza roll dispenser?

Well, if you thought that clever contraption was the greatest thing that ever happened to kitchen appliances, you might want to brace yourself.

It turns out someone just invented another genius hack that will save you a trip to the cafeteria.

Blake Hawkins, a 17-year-old high school student who goes by the name Mistablik online, recently decided to give his boring old school locker a bougie makeover.

Youtube

However, he didn't upgrade his locker by hitting up the school for a magnetic mirror and a collapsable shelf.

Instead, he decided to put his brain to the test and build a glorious vending machine locker.

Youtube

That's right. If you take a peek inside this smart student's locker, you'll find a custom-built vending machine, dubbed "the soda locker" that fits right inside.

Youtube

According to Hawkins,

A little less than a year ago, on the way back from lunch to U.S History class, I looked at one of the lockers and thought “how cool would it be to have a vending machine fit entirely inside of a locker?” Shortly after, I mentioned the idea to a few class mates at my table. We then talked about it for a while as a joke, but the further we went on, to me, the idea seemed entirely possible!

Apparently, Hawkins used an Arduino micro-controller to program the screen and coin slot and borrowed a laser-cutter from the school to make the interface of the machine.

Youtube

The machine has the ability to dispense two different types of soda. Hawkins also included a built-in locking mechanism to prevent anyone from yanking the machine out of the locker.

Youtube

If that's not impressive enough, Hawkins even used the machine to score a date to prom by stocking it with a special can of Dr. Pepper that had his girlfriend's prom invitation on it.

If you're looking to upgrade your own school locker with a badass vending machine, Hawkins details the entire process of making this DIY vending machine on his Instructables page.

Citations: This High Schooler's Locker Has a Vending Machine Inside (Mental Floss)