Odd Vending Machines

Vending machines represent a very large market in the food selling arena. These machines come in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on what they sell and where they are located.

But sometimes there are ones that are just a little different than the rest. There are plenty of odd vending machines and one of the oddest is likely the one that was made completely out of Lego blocks. It is fully functional and able to operate just like any other vending machine you may want to use. It was light sensors, touch sensors and a coin slot. The machine is even able to show the amount to pay in its LCD display. It can detect coins and will dole out one of three tasty treats when the correct coinage is placed in the slot. There are Lego fans the world over who make unique things from the blocks. This unusual form of vending machines should not be a surprise given the fact that as recently as 2005 a completely functional pinball machine was made out of twenty thousand pieces of Lego. Of course, if this is not what you want to do, but if you still love your Lego, vending machines in Japan sell them.　

What if you want to play soccer but you cannot find any people to play with and you have no soccer ball? What could you do to remedy this sad situation? All you need is to use your cell phone. You send a text message to the Call a Ball vending machine in our neighborhood and it will authorize the machine to dispense a ball to you. The ball has in it a RFID, Radio Frequency Identification, chip which means that if you take the ball it can be traced back to you. As well, if you decide you want to buy the ball your credit card will be billed with no problem. So, you have solved the first problem, you now have a ball. What about players? No problem. Once again using your cell phone will solve this problem. As long as you have registered with one or more of the machines as a player you can send a text message saying only the word challenge and then the system will find you other players in the area to join you for a game.

The largest vending machine ever is supposed to be in Strasbourg in France. This vending machine is supposed to carry a little of everything and be a good replacement for your corner store or supermarket.

Japan is the country that leads the way in all things to do with vending machines. The latest and greatest from there is a vending machine that you can get drinks from. This is nothing special in itself until you look closer. There is a touch screen that allows you to make your choices, but the best part of this machine is that inside it there is a camera so the customer can actually watch as the machine pours their drink. Now that's an odd vending machine.