Vending machines

Americans can now buy a bottle of wine out of a vending machine as if it were a Coke or a bag of Cheetos. No surprise how that's playing in France, the self-styled wine capital of the world and a place not known for its tolerance of bourgeois enterprise. Well, the French are not only turning their...

When I was just a little girl, my favorite bedtime story was "Grimm's Fairy Tale's, The Twelve Dancing Princesses." The king's daughters, you see, would secretly slip out every night and dance holes through their slippers. Apparently they didn't have stilettos in the Grimms' day. Pity those...

Gold has long been a go-to commodity and in Germany, where 59 tons of gold was sold last quarter, this is particularly evident. The Market Oracle reports that it will be easier than ever to buy once gold vending machines are installed in 500 locations throughout Germany and Switzerland. The gold,...

American Public Media's Marketplace recently profiled a few frugal folks called "change hunters." These ingenious folks are those who look for change as they go about their daily lives. Armed only with keen eyes, Purell and a coin purse, they collect coins wherever they go. Most people don't feel...

When I was a kid, summers meant trips to New York and Cape Cod. As we grew used to the incredibly long car rides, my sisters and I would develop traditions, milestones, road games, and other ways to make the time pass a little less excruciatingly slowly. One of our regular stops was at the Maryland...