CBC Live - Tech - VIDEO: Margaret Atwood Tells Strombo About the Biblio-Mat

VIDEO: Margaret Atwood Tells Strombo About the Biblio-Mat

January 25, 2013 By Jamey Ordolis | @jameyordolis

Margaret Atwood - living literary legend, prolific tweeter and inventor of the LongPen technology for signing virtual autographs - is jazzed about something new that she calls "serendipity" for book lovers.

In a recent interview on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, she gushed to George about her favourite new technology, the Biblio-Mat, which is the world's first - and only - random antiquarian book vending machine.

Margaret first tweeted a CBC Community story about the Biblio-Mat, which was created by designer/animator Craig Small for the Monkey's Paw bookstore:

"This! Is! Brilliant! #steampunk #bibliophiles #libraries can use for fundraising+ #literacy Needed for new books too!"

News of the Biblio-Mat's vending powers went viral shortly after its launch and we definitely think it's worth the visit if you're in Toronto.

Watch the videos for more on the machine that puts a delightfully literal spin on the old Plato adage that "knowledge is the food of the soul":