Tired of your gumball machine popping out a piece of gum as soon as you punch a button? Want to add some challenge to your life? Do away with that weak no-resistance dispenser and make getting round mounds of gum feel like work with the Gumball Pinball Machine.
Yep, it’s a gumball dispenser that requires you to exercise well-honed pinball skills before sending a color-coated chewing gum your way. That way, you’ll have to run through hoops awhile before popping another teeth-rotting bundle of sugar down your mouth, instead of right now.
The Gumball Pinball Machine is a purely mechanical pinball game housed inside a powder-coated steel frame measuring 52 x 18 x 32 inches. Instead of sending toy balls down the sloping board, it chucks out 1-inch candy-coated chewing gums that you’ll have to get into the right holes if you want it to slide out into your waiting hands. A total of four “win” holes (which lead to the flip-up dispenser) and three “lose” holes (which lead to a refilling container) are strategically laid out on the baseball-themed board.
To play, just turn the coin slot crank to release three gumballs onto the field, which you can send hurtling across the board using two spring-loaded flippers. There’s also a plunger for getting at those gums that manage to escape past your flipping arms.  The hopper can stock as many as 1,700 1-inch gumballs at a time.
Granted, you don’t need a Gumball Pinball Machine. Who the heck does? We can’t imagine a more ridiculous way to entertain kids hankering for a piece of gum, though. And that makes it awesome.  Gumball Pinball Machine is available Hammacher Schlemmer for $1,000 and weighs around 97 pounds.
[Hammacher Schlemmer]