Book vending machines in the metró

When I first saw them I though they were snack machines but when I got closer I realised there were no Mars bars, Coca-Cola or M&Ms and in their place were books! In fact in many central stations in São Paulo you can only find book vending machines, nothing else is for sale on the platforms or hallways. And they're quite affordable too at between R$2 and R$5 (1 to 2€) although there does seem to be a disproportionate number of religious books making me wonder if this is another covert money making operation by the IURD (see old post on drive-through churches..)

Drive thru banking and churching

 
Not only has extremely high traffic levels and lack of parking caused a helicoptor boom in the city, it has also produced some interesting product innovation such as drive-through banking (so you don´t have to park to get out and use a cash point). Bradesco  has 10 such facilities in and around São Paulo - it's certainly not going to help the city smog levels but it's an interesting way to avoid the horrors of parking in São Paulo. I'm told it's been around for years in the US but never seen one in Europe before...

And if that seems kind of boring how about drive-through churches? Yes, churches! This is a very spritiual country and apparently at peak prayer times there's a lot of congestion around templo da Vila Mariana (southern São Paulo) so they launched a drive-thru service! And for those of you who speak Portuguese this is what the local pastor from Igreja Universal (IURD) has to say:

                        "O propósito do pastor Osvaldo Volpini, o responsável pelo lugar, 

                        é atrair quem esteja parado no trânsito e necessite de um apoio 

                        espiritual de emergência."

                        "Tão rápido quanto uma loja de fast food, um pastor do drive-thru 

                        entrega ao motorista um folheto com os horários dos cultos, 

                        faz uma oração e um pedido de oferta à igreja. Coisa de cinco minutos."

I like his business-focused mind. Maybe I'll hire him...

It's not just Pastor Volpini these guys from IURD are every advanced - they've got a hallelujah iphone app and an integrated shopping channel on their website. I'm definitely going to see if some of them want to switch businesses...