"Finger Lights" Actually "Miniature Glow Sticks"
This vending machine at Fry's advertises "Finger Lights" and shows a hand with rings on them showing colored lights shooting out of the fingers like the Green Lantern just got a bunch of technicolor friends. It seems, however, they don't quite work as advertised as employees affixed a sign informing shoppers they are, in fact, tiny glow sticks. So they would create a localized glow around the finger rather than the beams of light shown in the picture. For that, you would want to get yourself an LED light, which you're unlikely to find in a vending machine by the checkout, unless as a prize in The Claw game. Tipster Jacob writes, "I can just imagine the frustrated manager refunding yet another 50 cents to little Jimmy who whose 'finger light' was found lacking."
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Oh, come on. Did anyone ever really think those x-ray glasses in the back of comics actually worked? Waddaya expect for fifty cents.
They had real finger lights at the checkout counter @ a Wal-Mart when I was in Maryland on business. My first thought was, "Wow, I guess there are a lot of ravers up here."
For every silly-looking sign or disclaimer you see, there is a silly story behind it that prompted the disclaimer. Such as children and their parents not understanding that the claims made by coin-op toy machines are largely exaggerated.
Or, maybe they ran out of finger lights and decided to replace them with glow sticks (without a sign). And who cares.
Sigh. My search for finger lights has hit another dead end. Damn you finger lights!!
Green Lantern *did* just get a bunch of Technicolor friends, about a month ago.
What I would like to know is how much lead is in each one of those "lights"?
man, so much for lighting my way with my finger.
"Okay, let's just say, hypothetically, that I cracked open one of my glow sticks and smoked it."
Lead? No its some aqua dots ruffies!
man, so much for lighting my way with my finger
"It seems, however, they don't quite work as advertised as employees affixed a sign informing..."
How do we know the poster didn't just write up the note and post it himself to see if he could get on Consumerist?
This post is such a non issue I can't believe i'm commenting to declare it a non issue.
I guess they left the old display card up. I have an actual finger light. This isn't a case of "not working as advertised" but simply "Wrong product card."
God, who cares??
I saw these at a bowling alley recently, just after spending some time in a sex shop. Took me awhile to realize that they don't vibrate...
@bunnymen: I was going to include a link to a "Fukuoku" (what you were looking for) on Amazon, but the "Customers Who Bought Items Like This Also Bought" was NSFW.
P.S. When did Amazon.com start selling sex toys?!?!?!
The machine just simply filled with the wrong thing. My son got a finger light that looks just like what is pictured a few weeks back. He loves it, well worth the $.50. It is in fact a LED light with a rubberband to attach it to your finger.
@mercurypdx: there was some snafu involving a kid's toy and some sex product was showing up in the "related" or "people who bought x also bought y" list on amazon. totally hilarious.
Wait what? I bought one of those from a Pathmark vending machine, and they are in fact, neither glow sticks, nor focused beams (as the picture would have you believe) but in actuality a tiny led light.
um yeah. there actually ARE 50 cent LED finger lights - welcome to the future! I bought a few a few months ago from a vending machine in NY. This machine probably just ran out so they refilled it with a different product entirely (glow sticks) but just stuck a paper sign on since they didn't have a pretty picture one.
Incidentally, they're great if you do a lot of work inside PC cases, even if they make you look like a complete doofus. It's like a spelunker's headlamp for your finger!
Just don't expect much real illumination from them - they're super-wimpy LEDs. One of the ones i got did do this nifty color-shifting thing, though, which was kind of impressive for a half buck.
Finger lights are awesome and sold at Wal-green's counter, for at least a year now. They're under a dollar at this point I think.
It's not unreasonable to think that a vending machine might offer an even cheaper, less bright, version of it, with lead pigment in the velcro straps.
I remember when I wass a kid... i was really into that junk in the gumball vending machines. Most of the stuff was kinda cool, the only memorable CRAPPY one was a "mexican jumping bean" ... on the display it showed a bean jumping all over..... but when I got it it did NOTHING! I opened it up & basically what it was was a plastic capsule very similar to time-release medicine capsules. Both ends were opaque & has a sticker over the seams where the two capsuls meet.... & when you opened it up.... there was a steel ball-bearing inside. THATS what it was. Yup my very own non-jumping plastic (with a ball-brearing inide) mexican jumping bean.
What crap!
Between the GHB and glowsticks, isn't it time Wal-Mart considered changing their in-store music?
What's next, Global Underground 041: Arkansas?
Well, the yellow light would not be coming from someone the Green Lantern would call a "friend", of course...
Hahaha! That's so funny that you posted this!
I got one of those from the vending machine at a diner I go to every once in awhile. All it was, was a rubber band with a plastic case with 2 watch batteries and an LED.
It was the same picture, but it was called "LASER LIGHTS." I guess someone else complained and they changed it to Finger Lights.
I was like "Laser light, huh? This I gotta see..."
I was quite disappointed.
Still, pretty cool for 50¢.