# Is it true that ATM machines..... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565 "2013-01-27T23:15:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/41 "2013-01-28T20:06:41Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > I should try this PIN Number idea next time I use the ATM Machine to buy chai tea and naan bread, perhaps on the upcoming Mardi Gras Day. All while you’re on the way to visit the La Brea tar pits, of course. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/42 "2013-01-28T20:46:00Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > I should try this PIN Number idea next time I use the ATM Machine to buy chai tea and naan bread, perhaps on the upcoming Mardi Gras Day. Huh? Also Huh? to La Brea Tar pits reference/joke. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/43 "2013-01-28T20:50:42Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Except the ones at the La Brea Tar Pits. > [@pulykamell](#): > > All while you’re on the way to visit the La Brea tar pits, of course. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Huh? Also Huh? to La Brea Tar pits reference/joke. > 😕 La Brea means “the tar” in Spanish, so The La Brea Tar Pits literally translated is “The The Tar Tar Pits”. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/44 "2013-01-28T21:03:00Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Is the APC center protected by a UPS power supply? What is its UPC code? The APC center was protected by a UPS power supply until the contract came up for renewal. Now they are protected by [FedEx Express](http://www.fedex.com/us/fedex/shippingservices/express.html). Then they discovered they needed a [FedEx Ground](http://www.fedex.com/us/fedex/shippingservices/package/ground.html) to prevent people from being shocked. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/45 "2013-01-28T21:28:27Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Huh? Also Huh? to La Brea Tar pits reference/joke. > 😕 He’s jokingly saying that he’s going to buy tea tea and bread bread to eat on Fat Tuesday Day. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/46 "2013-01-28T21:34:44Z")
> [@Jimi](#): > > So what if your pin is say 1771 or 2332 or 5995? Remind me to change the combination on my luggage… and my PIN. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/47 "2013-01-28T22:28:19Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > La Brea means “the tar” in Spanish, so The La Brea Tar Pits literally translated is “The The Tar Tar Pits”. Dammit. Didn’t realize I had long since been ninja’d in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/48 "2013-01-28T22:40:32Z")
I used to have a palindromic PIN that was issued by the bank. It never called the cops. Just gave me my cash. The bank is no longer extant, but I’m sure that’s just a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/49 "2013-01-28T22:57:55Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > He’s jokingly saying that he’s going to buy tea tea and bread bread to eat on Fat Tuesday Day. Ah, so it an attempt at humor based upon the meme that “ATM machine” is a repetitive redundancy, which is not actually correct. Har. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/50 "2013-01-28T22:59:58Z")
What would be the point of that anyway? Like, I guess if you were getting mugged, and the mugger didn’t wait for you to finish the transaction…? Maybe? “I see a car on fire! Quick the nearest ATM is 3 blocks away to the south.” Surely there’s a order of magnitude more phones than ATMs in the average square mile, right? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/51 "2013-01-28T23:19:13Z")
I think the idea is that someone holds you at gunpoint, and tells you to go to the nearest AT and make a large withdrawal. Such a criminal would probably not allow you to pull out your phone, but they will certainly allow you to punch numbers into the AT. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/52 "2013-01-29T00:02:53Z")
> [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > You get a mesage saying > “The number you have entered is imaginary, please rotate yourself by 90degrees and try again” That would be too complex for most people. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/53 "2013-01-29T01:26:58Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > That would be too complex for most people. What if the ATM Machine ran on reactive power? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/54 "2013-01-29T01:32:13Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > What if the ATM Machine ran on reactive power? That would depolarize the subatomic particles in the magnetic stripe, causing a chain reaction which destroy the universe as we know it. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/55 "2013-01-29T01:56:47Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Interesting, if slappable point. But it presumes knowledge of the word “automatic,” that the meaning precludes a teller, a description applied to a human. > > If you’re going about assuming knowledge, since you know that you are heading for/looking for/using that squat box which spits out money and handles related banking transactions, ie, what a teller does, it can simply be called an A. > > If you carry that thought further, you can start talking like a mobster discussing the disposition of a body: “You know, dat ting we did da ting to.” > [@Chronos](#): > > Well of course I’m going about assuming knowledge-- It’d be hard to communicate without doing so. But I don’t see how simplifying to just “A” works. If I say “I need to stop at the automatic teller on the way home”, it’s clear to anyone who knows English what I mean, but if I say “I need to stop at the automatic on the way home”, it’s not. The automatic what? Automatic car wash, automatic laundry facility, automatic anything at all. If the person already knows that I’m looking for the thing that dispenses money, then I don’t need to say anything at all. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Indeed. I’m puzzled by **Leo** ’s point that it can be simplified to “A” somehow. “Automated teller” or even “teller machine” work and get the point across. “Automated” doesn’t. Well, I’m tempted to reply to **Chronos** with the words The smile on your face lets me know that you need me There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall You say it best when you say nothing at all\* And, more to the point, if you say "I need to drive your car, and you say “A,” it shows… Aw, forget it. I’m licked. \*This from the song [_When You Say Nothing At All_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZO9C-GWc_Y&feature=youtube_gdata_player) by Allison Krauss. I think it is quite lovely. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/56 "2013-01-29T02:16:47Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Aw, forget it. I’m licked. > > \*. Naw, we’re going to take all the letters out, and just mime putting your card into the slot.😛 (which is actually one way it is signed in ASL) ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/57 "2013-01-29T06:02:01Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > I should try this PIN Number idea next time I use the ATM Machine to buy chai tea and naan bread, perhaps on the upcoming Mardi Gras Day. And watching The Los Angeles Angels ---
**Author:** ![manojr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@manojr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manojr)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/58 "2013-01-29T10:02:44Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > automatically inform police that an emergency is in progress when you punch in the reverse sequence of your PIN number? Idea of second PIN is useful if ATM shows zero balance in your account, instead of calling police. ATM user must decide whether to put right PIN to withdraw money and handover to the thief, or put second PIN to see no balance message and make the thief angry and risk getting hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/59 "2013-01-29T10:33:59Z")
That’s a good idea, but once criminals catch on to it, they’ll simply start demanding that you try two different PINs before they give up on you. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565/60 "2013-01-29T12:30:30Z")
Before digressing further into the world of [pleonasms](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleonasm), since my home is close to the border of Wisconsin, we get a lot of its residents trouncing around here. At their home, they have (had) a bank called Tyme and they would innocuously attempt to ask where the nearest [Tyme machine was.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TYME) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-atm-machines/648565.md?page=4)