The manual encourages you to sell advertising in these spaces. I chose somewhat different messages:
The top of the screen always displays
SUBMIT - CONFORM - OBEY
MARRY AND REPRODUCE
NEVER QUESTION
The bottom of the screen cycles through these four messages:
DRIVE THE COP
OUT OF YOUR HEAD
SURPRISE, SURPRISE:
THE GOVERNMENT LIES.
THE U.S. CONSTITUTION
ISN'T PERFECT,
BUT IT'S BETTER THAN
WHAT WE HAVE TODAY
DESTROY CAPITALISM
SMASH THE STATE
Finally, the heading of the paper receipt begins with
SHOPPING IS NOT CREATING
YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU OWN
This last one is my favorite, because people will probably only notice it after they've gotten home and fish the receipt out of their pockets!
We occasionally get complaints from customers about these messages! A couple of examples:
| Customer: | What's up with the Unamerican shit on the ATM? | |
|---|---|---|
| Manager: | Unamerican? | |
| Customer: | Yeah, it says "Surprise surprise, the Government lies!" | |
| Manager: | Uh... they do. | |
| Customer: | Yeah, but you're not supposed to say things like that! Especially not now! |
But my favorite complaint was from the guy who was puzzled that the ATM says "Destroy Capitalism" but charges him a $3 service fee. Irony is hard, let's go shopping!
Update, 2011:
We have a new ATM now, but it still has entertaining messages on it.
Details and a video are in my
2011 blog post about it.