The vending machine is probably one of the greatest delivery systems man has ever thought of. Take a bunch of things, put them behind a glass display, and take people’s loose change and dollar bills for the impulse purchases. Candy, beverages, sandwiches from time to time, all deliver straight to your gaping maw. But some people aren’t satisfied with unhealthy craving-ending chocolate or soda. There are people out there who looked at the vending machine and saw much more potential than office break room furniture.
GOLD To Go
The uncle in your family who still hides money under his mattress and tells you to invest in “the silver coin market” is licking his lips right now, but it’s true: GOLD To Go is a vending machine that takes your money and, in return, spits out gold bars. We first heard about it in Saudi Arabia (go figure), but we were surprised to learn they’re in many different countries all over the world—including the U.S. Pretty damn convenient, if we do say so ourselves. Link
Kandi Machine
If you know anything about the world’s wild vending machine market, you know China and Japan are home to some of the most ridiculous vending machines in the game. Well, we mean, there is the crack pipe machine in Canada, but that’s neither here nor there.
Anyway, Hangzhou, China, is the home of the Kandi Machine, a full-on vending machine where for just a little over $3 an hour, you can rent a fully electric car with a range of roughly 75 miles, and a speed limit of 50 MPH. It’s not the fastest car out there, but for $3, we really don’t think it’s fair to complain. Link
Paline’s Pizza Vending Machine
Everyone’s biggest gripe with pizzerias is that they’re never open when we need them most—at 3 in the morning on a Saturday when the bars have closed and we’re stumbling home. That is, until somebody was brilliant enough to invent a pizza vending machine. The competition for these machines is pretty contentious right now, but Paline’s Pizza Vending Machines make our list because the pizzas they spit out are actually really good quality—or so fans and reviews say. And if any of you are in the market for franchise opportunities, Paline’s looking for regional distributors. Link
#MoetMoment Moet Chandon Vending Machine
Listen fellas, we’re not trying to tell you how to live your lives or anything, but we will say that right now, you could be at a vending machine that sells 20-dollar bottles of Moet Chandon. While there are only a few select locations across the world—Las Vegas, New Orleans, and London—it’s worth stopping in to have some once-in-a-lifetime bubbly for a more than affordable price. Hell, at the very least, it beats the Diet Dr. Pepper you grabbed from your company’s machine after lunch. Link
Weed Vending Machines
There’s a joke about having the munchies here somewhere, but there’s absolutely nothing funny about the emerging medical and recreational marijuana industry in the U.S. Currently one of Colorado’s most profitable and popular industries, everyone is trying to get in on the action. Which is exactly why we’ve seen the introduction of weed vending machines to the equation. They sell anything from grams to eighths, edibles, rolling papers, and even things like affordable urine screening tests to see how baked you are. If that’s not service on the go, we don’t know what is. Link
Sprinkles Cupcake ATM
Sprinkles cupcakes is consistently ranked one of the best cupcake shops in the nation, and with chains from New York to California, their innovative and revolutionary cupcake ATMs should excite everyone—literally every single one of you should be jumping for joy. There are 15 cupcake ATMs around the country—cities include places like Austin, Nashville, New York City, Beverly Hills, etc.—but these beautiful magic machines will spit out fresh, ready-to-eat cupcakes whenever you want them, 24/7. And they take credit cards. Link
Mikkeller Beer Vending Machine
GENTLEMEN, THE FUTURE IS NOW. Sorry for all the yelling, but if there’s one thing we love more than beer, it’s a wide selection of beer delivered via the convenience of a vending machine. The folks at Mikkeller get us, which is why they’ve come out with their own beer-specific vending machine. Far as we can tell, they can only be found at specific events and in/around Copenhagen (where Mikkeller is based), but it’s the thought that counts, really. Plus, with the U.S. being smack dab in the middle of a craft beer revolution ourselves, we can only hope more local breweries take note. Link
Uniqlo Airport Vending Machines
You can’t buy beer or pizza or weed from them, but the folks at Uniqlo are trying to help everyone by offering forgetful travelers some last-minute clothing options at airport vending machines across the country. The first machine was unveiled earlier in August at Oakland International Airport, and offers two of the company’s most popular items—the Heattech tops and the UltraLight down jackets—which are easy to pack and super functional, and come in a variety of color and sizes for men and women. The vending machines are also slated for release in several other cities including Los Angeles, Houston, and New York. Link
