Is there even a "relevant to Hacker News"? I've always seen it as things that people find interesting. If you don't like it then downvoting is an option if you're able to.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

"If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity"

Because it is 'deeply interesting'

Cool photos of machines.

Photos of other cultures.

Provokes discourse.

I find vending machines interesting. I think it does apply to the general feel here. I'd love to see the internals more often though!

Because culture.

impressive durability: some of these vending machines are friggin' snow-proof -- and they still keep the drinks warm.