Top 10 Weirdest Things You Can Buy from a Vending Machine

This raises so many questions, primarily, why canned bread? Apparently, the concept of canned bread became popular some time around 2004 when a video game called “Clannad” was released in Japan. In “Clannad”, the hero’s parents run a bakery, and Clannad-themed canned bread became available a few years after the game’s release. The bread even comes in different flavors, including blueberry, chocolate, and even green tea, which raises even more questions, like, why is green tea bread a thing?

Well, we suppose everyone has emergencies. Or an insatiable desire to purchase a new pair of jeans. In 2009, a German company named Closed Jeans began testing out their jean vending machine prototype. The initial machine was placed in Florence, Italy, and it allowed busy or forgetful tourists to… yep, buy a new pair of jeans. If the vending machine proved to be successful, Closed Jeans had plans to place more of their machines in busy airports and train stations around Europe. Unfortunately, not much has been heard of their machines since, but other brands have adopted the idea.

Caviar has always been a symbol of wealth and success. So it’s kind of weird to see it coming out of a vending machine. The caviar vending machines – which also sell truffles and escargot – are maintained by Beverly Hills Caviar Automated Boutique. In 2013, the vending machines were placed in three malls in the Los Angeles area – Westfield Century City, Westfield Topanga, and Hollywood and Highland Center. Prices range from as little as $5 all the way to $500, which gets you one ounce of caviar.

Sometimes you don’t have the time to do your hair. Sometimes you do and the wind ruins it. No problem, Beautiful Vending has you covered! Beautiful Vending is a company that distributes hair iron vending machines to gyms, nightclubs, and shopping malls. The gist of the machine is that you pay money to “rent” the hair iron so you can touch up your hair while on the go or out on the town. A similar machine was installed at John Abbott College in Quebec, Canada by entrepreneur Robin Rolleri. It has received mixed reception, with some women praising the concept and others criticizing its supposedly superficial nature.

Ah, there’s nothing like a good gimmick. Concept Shed’s AutoWed Wedding Machine unofficially marries you and your partner. And we can’t emphasize that enough – this is 100% not a legal wedding machine. The participants place a dollar in the machine and enter their names with a keyboard. A robotic voice then “marries” you, and you receive a fancy “wedding certificate” and two rings from the dispenser. Only a few of these have popped up, one of which is inside Michigan’s Marvin’s Marvellous Mechanical Museum, but the company hopes to produce more soon.

In the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver, many people deal with various social issues. To help with the substance use that occurs in the area, the non-profit Portland Hotel Society decided to install the vending machines stocked with pipes. They argue, this hinders the black market on pipes and limits the spread of diseases that can occur from sharing old and damaged ones. Similar vending machines are in use in many American cities such as Los Angeles, Detroit and New York. In addition to pipes they offer other practical tools in dealing with substance use.

Buying insects from vending machines – what a time to be alive! Maybe we’re underestimating how many people enjoy having insects as pets. In Japan, you can buy rhinoceros beetles from various vending machines sprinkled throughout the city. When The Guardian first reported on this in 1999, they stated that many people in Japan like to collect beetles as pets. They also stated that many Japanese schoolchildren live in cities, where beetles are not prevalent, so the sale of beetles can be helpful as a teaching tool. Although not without a note of controversy, the vending machines were supposedly a huge success.

If you thought selling a rhinoceros beetle out of a vending machine was weird, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. In 2010, a vending machine that sold crabs appeared in the Nanjing subway station in China, which apparently sold up to 200 crabs a day. Another vending machine soon popped up in Hangzhou that sold Chinese mitten crabs – also known as Shanghai hairy crabs – which are a delicacy in eastern China. The crabs go for the equivalent of $3 and come with crab vinegar and ginger tea. The machine was set up to accommodate China’s frenzy for hairy crab in the autumn months.

Anyone interested in investing in gold? Well then Gold to Go is your answer. Gold to Go is a brand made by the TG Gold-Super-Markt that dispenses pure gold from their vending machines. Potential investors buy the gold using cash or a credit card, and the machine can dispense over 300 items made of pure gold. Two of the most common items are gold coins and 24-carat gold bars, which range between 1 and 10 grams. The first machine popped up in Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace, while the first machine in America was placed in Boca Raton, Florida.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Lobster
A Dog Bath
Used Items

They're infamous, but did they ever exist? Well... “Burusera” - a fetish surrounding school uniforms and underwear swept Japan in the 1990s. And it was during this craze that the alleged used undergarment machines existed. In 2014, a journalist with Tech in Asia spoke to a local sex shop employee who admitted that the machines did exist in the back alleys of Akihabara in the past. Police had begun to crackdown on selling the underwear of anyone under 18, so the market dried up. Today's used panty machines sell faux used underoos instead.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever bought in a vending machine? Let us know in the comments!