The Automatiek exhibit at the Amsterdam Historical Museum features these classic, self-serve vending machines dispensing historical Dutch objects instead of the old, odd, fried piece of frikadel as teaser for the upcoming new National Historical Museum.

There are a variety of objects to choose from ranging from the obvious Dutch cheese knife to the more obscure Dutch (?!) cassette tape. With each object only costing one or two euros, it’s easy to walk away from the exhibit with a whole lot of new Dutch stuff in your hands as well as in your head. Unless you are one of these people…

The Oma-Hackers

There’s always some one out there looking to beat the system, I just never thought it would be a pair of outlaw grandmas. These two gal pals showed up one day to the exhibit with their own previously made RFID cards. Many people who come to exhibit tend to recharge their card during their first visit to buy more objects, but to come back for seconds, it was unprecedented. Of course, more shocking was the fact that they just refilled their cards, bought their objects and tried to leave without even watching the movie (which I, personally, think is the best part of the whole exhibit). As some one who worked on the project, I had to stop them and ask them why.

Turns out the Automatiek was the best deal on quality tea towels this side of Amsterdam. What normally costs a whopping €6.95 in the stores was only €2 here at the exhibit and everyone on the granny grapevine was trying to get in while the getting was good. Hey, it’s classier than going to the 99¢ Store, right?

So come on down to the Automatiek exhibit before August 29th, 2010 at the Amsterdam Historisch Museum and get your tea towel today, while supplies last!

More info:

• “Trek in geschiedenis?”, Amsterdam Historisch Museum blog
• “Bij historisch denken mensen aan oude meuk”, Volkskrant
• “Writing history with objects”, Mediamatic Lab