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 the definitive exposition on japanese pez dispensers! my friend peggy visited japan back in 1995, and she brought me back lots of really fun toys, including 2 japanese pez dispensers. the candy was kinda gross and chalky, but the mechanism of the dispenser itself really intrigued me. in america, our pez dispensers offer the consumer an essentially passive candy experience. the pez is loaded into the dispenser, and then to consume the candy all one has to do is tilt the head back and receive the candy. tasty, yes, but kind of boring.  however, the japanese have succeeded in reinventing the pez experience, essentially unknown, i assume, to most american consumers! as you can see in this diagram from the box containing the pez dispenser, the candy is loaded into the bottom of the tube and held into place by a plastic spring of sorts. this spring pushes the candy up as it is dispensed. however, instead of tilting back the head to get the candy, the japanese dispenser is equipped with a small plastic lever which literally flings the candy out of the dispenser! this ingenious device puts the fun back into pez, for you can obtain that crucial sugar high and pelt your friends and neighbors at the very same time!
 as an added bonus (also shown in the diagram), the tops of the dispensers can be removed after the candy is gone, and used as a fun accent on the top of a pencil.
whatta toy! 13may96 |