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Gardencenter

"Fruit, please!" Marty Jr. selects a healthy snack from the Garden Center fruit dispenser.

The Garden Center fruit dispenser (also sometimes known as simply Garden Center[1]) was a device that would hold and preserve fruit.

History[]

The fruit dispenser's technology, available in 2015, was designed not only to promote good nutrition, but also good manners. The McFly family had such a dispenser at their home in Hilldale.

The dispenser, which was located out of reach in the McFly kitchen, could only be used by speech recognition, was programmed to respond only to authorized persons, and only then if the voice command was made correctly. Marty McFly, Jr. was unable to get a snack from the dispenser merely by saying "Fruit!" or "Hey, fruit!", and had to add the universal 'magic word' to his request. When he said "Fruit, please!" no matter how insincerely, the unit would lower from the ceiling of the kitchen. Marty Jr. then had to add "Thank you!" in order for the dispenser to open (or at least for it not to retract). Evidently, the programming was done in an effort to try to teach 17-year-old Marty Jr. how to be polite; his sister, Marlene, was able to use the dispenser without any special protocol.

After the user had made a selection, the voice command "Retract" would cause the dispenser to ascend to its original position.

The Future Furnishings exhibit at the Hill Valley Science Expo in 1931 had a similar basket of fruit, although it was predicted that such baskets would be refilled by helicopters.

Actuality[]

  • Fruit dispensers which can hold and preserve fruit, like that seen in Back to the Future Part II, have yet to be invented, though the technology they utilize exists. At the moment, traditional household fruit bowls are still the norm.

Appearances[]

References[]

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