While reading through this book, I couldn’t help but wonder how much of it no longer applies. Things like the government giving away a free elk or a free buffalo to anyone who writes in asking for one - do they still do that? Do any of the communes and free charity centers and other stuff created by the counter-culture back then still exist, or have they all faded away or self-destructed?
I assume it’s not possible anymore to use washers as slugs in vending machines, or to use Peruvian or Danish currency, as STB suggests - vending machines, I’m assuming, have all kinds of lasers and magic-readers to tell exactly what coin is going in. (I’m not looking for advice on ripping off vending machines, I’m just wondering.)
Do Karl’s or Paul and Ernie’s still exist in Chigago? What about the International Harvester thing that is described at West 120th street - something about a wholesale food market? Is that still around?
I’m thinking that a new edition of “Steal This Book” probably needs to be written, since the times have changed so much, costs have gotten higher, the Internet is a whole new world of scams and ripoffs and free money, there’s all kinds of stuff to worry about with regards to terrorism and the government’s reaction to it (a lot of stuff in Steal This Book would get your head blown off if you tried it today.) Would anyone even care enough to do such a thing anymore?
When hitching, it’s a good idea to carry a bottle opener and a straw. You take the caps off soda bottles while they’re still in the machine and drink them dry without ever touching the bottle.
Could you do this before in old style vending machines?
I don’t have time to search for cites/images - but I remember older vending machines that would dispense glass bottles of soda. The front of the machine had a door and you’d open it to reveal a vertical row of sodas facing caps-out. The machine would keep the bottles “locked” in until you paid for one, at which time you’d be able to pull one out. I suppose you could un-cap one and easily drain it without paying. I still see these machines from time to time, usually at old barber shops or similar old-fashioned stores.
Back in the old days, there used to be a style of vending machine where bottles lay horizontal with the cap pointed toward you. You opened the little door, grasped the neck of the bottle and pulled it out. You could pull the bottle out an inch or so (even without putting any money in) and remove the cap and pour the drink into a cup.
Another style was like a large insulated box with a lift up lid (like a toy chest) or slide lid and bottles standing in rows. With those, it was possible to “pop the cap and use a straw.”