13 Most Unusual Vending Machines All Over The World

Toy cars

This vending machine, seen at a Milan metro station, aims to save parents from their bored children. The Italian kiosk dispenses mostly toy cars, but, for children looking for a brainier distraction, Rubik's cubes are for sale as well.

 

Medical marijuana

Medbox could be the weed-dispensing way of the future. Southern California already has several dozen of the pot vending machines in operation, and Connecticut is also now considering using them. But if you're up to no good, be warned — Medbox's top-notch security system requires both a fingerprint and a medical marijuana card before dispensing pot-infused goodies.

Bike parts

A revolutionary self-service bicycle repair kiosk was installed last week in Minneapolis, and includes a vending machine stocked with cycling basics: Patch kits, tubes, lights, and snacks. This automated vendor is hardly the first to make out-of-the-ordinary goods keypad convenient.

Porn

At the Meitetsu-Nagoya train station in Japan, it's not just necessities like food and drinks being dispensed in vending machines. The automated machines also offer... alternative reading material.

Umbrellas

From Japan (pictured) to the U.K., pedestrians caught in a rainstorm are no longer doomed to a soaking-wet walk to work.

Sandwiches

In the Netherlands, busy pedestrians on the go aren't limited to sugary snacks and greasy potato chips. Here, a Dutch vending machine stocks a variety of sandwiches. Grillburger, anyone?

SkyMall

SkyMall catalogs have long provided air travelers with in-flight perusing material, spotlighting "random gadgetry" like Solafeet Foot Tanner and Ultrasonic Dog Deterrent Bird Feeder. Now, you don't have to be airborne to enjoy such strange shopping, as SkyMall has installed vending machines peddling the same kooky merchandise in airports, too, like this kiosk in New York's JFK Airport.

Library books

The Edmonton Public Library lets its card-holding members skip a lengthy search of the shelves. An offsite vending machine like the one seen here allows users to check out books, DVD, CDs, and video games, all without ever being shushed by a librarian. There's even a return bin.

Live crabs

The first live crab vending machine, pictured here, was installed in China earlier this year. The crabs cost between $1.50 and $7.50 each, and the machine reportedly sells 200 live crabs a day. If the machine spits out a dead crab, customers are promised three live ones as compensation.

Hug for a Coke

The National University of Singapore is home to one of the world's most inviting Coke machines. The words "Hug Me," written in signature Coca-Cola script, grace the giant red box, and when curious students wrap their arms around the cumbersome machine, it dispenses a free Coke — all in the name of making people smile.

Pizza

"Thirty minutes or less" will soon seem interminable, thanks to a new pizza vending machine that cranks out piping-hot, freshly-made pies in less than three minutes. The "Let's Pizza" machine has been satiating Europeans for the past three years, and now the contraption is coming to the states, with the first machine set to be installed in Atlanta later this year.

Fresh eggs

Villagers in Japan can grab farm fresh eggs in the morning from this vending machine. Each refrigerated compartment stores a bag with a dozen eggs, stocked daily by local farmers. A bag of eggs cost 200 yen, which is roughly $2.50.

Smart car

Why let kids have all the fun? Japan one-ups Italy's toy car vending machine with one that markets Smart cars. Well, sort of. You can't actually purchase a vehicle using the machine, but it does dispense various brochures and promotional materials that could lead to an eventual purchase.

via theweek.com