Tat Tuesday.

Last week, while talking about Pogs, I mentioned that one of the reasons they were banned was the "gambling" aspect. That is to say you could play for keeps and win something. Which is, of course, the definition of gambling. What's funny is that gambling is a large part of a kids life. In fact childhood hobbies can be directly equated to forms of gambling. For instance Pogs are Dice, Card Games are Poker, and there are even slot machine equivalents. Which brings me to today subject. Bubble toy vending machines.

The fun in these machines came from the surprise factor. You never knew exactly what you would get when you put your money in. The image above is from one of the most popular, at least for me and my friends, set of prizes. Of course we never got any of the cool items shown there. We always walked away with a shitty non "Guns N Grenades" item. That didn't stop us from trying, over and over again. That is what I mean by gambling. It is addictive and ultimately futile. Because the house, in this case the machine itself, always wins.

Even when one of these machines featured just one item, there was still room for chance. You wanted a specific color or type. In my case I wanted them all. I have a compulsion to collect things. I like to have a whole set. Which means I would spend a lot of money on these machines. I still do. Yes I am one of those grown men who you see at these machines. Although I have a reason.

Every week, except for the numerous times when I find a reason not to, I see my psychiatrist. On my way to the bus stop I walk past a few of these machines. If I have change, I stop and try my luck. Over the past two weeks I have bought from the same machine. It features the little ninja guys pictured above. To be honest the sculpting is slightly impressive, although the paint is very sloppy. My main reason for stopping at these machines, aside from my childish love of unnecessary pieces of plastic, is boredom. Since my Creative Zen Vision:M's screen went kaput and my DS died, I'm left with very little to do while waiting for my often tardy doctor. These little items give me a few moments of blissful distraction. Which is what Tat Tuesday is all about.