Long gone is the era of gumball machine pedestals. You can now mount one on your wall. It certainly makes for an interesting conversation piece and, yes, it really dispenses gumballs. Made to look as if it were simply a framed picture of a gumball machine, the frame itself has a small plastic knob at the bottom that one twists to receive the prized gumball. Gumballs can be refilled from the back of the frame, where a small removable cap can be found. The machine takes standard size gumballs (that’s about 13mm in diameter, in case you didn’t know) and doesn’t require batteries of any kind, simply the need and know-how to twist a plastic knob. The wall-mounted gumball machine certainly stands out in any room and tends to gather many odd looks from guests, making it a perfectly strange gift or wall decoration.

I suggest fooling guests into believing you have an unnatural obsession with gumballs, eventually inviting them over and showing them this artistic homage to gumballs hanging from your wall. Naturally, when they aren’t looking, sneakily snag a gumball, and leave them guessing as to where it came from.

Don’t think that you’ll be making a profit from it, though. That’s perhaps the only downside. The machine doesn’t actually take quarters (it’s all part of the illusion) and I wouldn’t expect it to stand up to the gumball addiction most other machines are used to dealing with.

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