Vending the rules: 25 weird, wild vending machines

By Laura T. Coffey, TODAY

Who says you need customer service when purchasing a luxury vehicle, a gold bar, a freshly baked cupcake or a live hairy crab? Strange as it may seem, you can buy all of these items and more straight from vending machines.

New York City got its first-ever 24-hour "Cupcake ATM" on March 25, 2014, and lines of people waited to give it a try. Launched by the Sprinkles Cupcakes bakery on the Upper East Side, the machine can hold more than 700 cupcakes. Sprinkles employees restock the machine multiple times a day to keep the offerings fresh.

Yes, it's true: You really can buy live hairy crabs out of a vending machine in Nanjing, China. The machine keeps the local delicacies at 41 degrees Fahrenheit — cool enough to make the crabs sleepy without killing them. If you do purchase a dead crab, though, don't worry: The company behind the vending machine will compensate you with three live ones. The crabs cost between $1.50 and $7.50 depending on size and gender.

Japan is a magical land of vending machines. The devices are everywhere, and they sell just about anything — including these chilled bananas, wrapped in plastic and sold at Tokyo train station by Dole Japan Ltd. Price: About $1.50 a banana.

When hasn't this happened to you? You're running down the street, late for a meeting. You think to yourself, "Sheesh, I could reach my destination so much faster if I had a bike." Problem solved! The folks in the Netherlands who invented the "Bikedispenser" vending machine call it the "perfect bike solution" for anyone on the move.

Need some bling while you're on the go? Chris Dlugosz of Buffalo, N.Y., captured this image of a "Necklace Explosion" vending machine in the doorways of a highway truck stop. "I cannot deny I wish I had the hologram one," he posted on Flickr.

Thanks to India's National AIDS Control Organisation, it's a little bit easier to practice safe sex in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The group had more than 10,000 condom vending machines installed in those cities in 2009. A pack of two condoms sells for about 10 cents.

Detergent, soap and mouthwash are some of the items seen for sale by RedBox, an automated convenience store in Washington.

Let's head back to Japan for more weird vend trends: Each compartment of this refrigerated vending machine contains a bag of 10 to 12 eggs from a nearby farm. An enterprising farmer stocks the machine each morning. Price: About $3 for a bag of eggs.

Retail space and trained staff can be expensive — and because of that, more businesses are opting for vending machines in high-traffic areas to save money. ZoomSystems makes vending machines for the likes of Apple, Macy's and Best Buy, pictured here. Need a digital camera or another high-end gadget while you're on the go? Just swipe your credit card and ta-da!

If your significant other is annoyed with you for one reason or another, why not say you're sorry with some conveniently chilled flowers? From a vending machine? It's possible! Bush Refrigeration of Camden, N.J., makes handy "floral display coolers" that keep flowers nice and fresh.

If fast-food restaurants just aren't fast enough for you, no problem: R.O. International created this vending machine that whips up French-fried goodness in a flash. The fries get cooked in hot oil before being flash frozen and stacked into the machine. When you place your order, the machine heats the frozen fries in an oven and serves them up to you in just 45 seconds.

Is that fried chicken you smell wafting from that vending machine? Karl Baron of Sweden snapped this image of a 24-hour fried-food vending machine. Options include fried chicken, fried fish fillets, French fries and ... hot dogs? Mmmmm!

Looking for an ultra-safe investment — via a vending machine? With the swipe of a credit card or a willingness to part with some cash, you can get yourself a bar of gold. This "Gold to go" vending machine in Berlin, Germany spits out gold bars ranging in weight from 1 gram to about half a pound.

An over-the-top vending machine in over-the-top Miami Beach made headlines around the world for allowing people to spend as much as $1 million on a single purchase. Items range from a yacht trip to a penthouse condo to a Bentley to a BMW motorcycle. Nope, the cars and yachts don't fit through vending-machine slots; instead, you get a bag with a voucher that can be redeemed for the item you bought.

Want to fill your prescription at the hospital rather than take a separate trip to the pharmacy? You can with these InstyMeds vending machines, which are popping up at hospitals all over the United States.

Talk about a case of "wage against the machine." In response to falling milk prices, farmers in Spain took steps to cut out the middle man — by using vending machines instead. Fresh-milk vending machines, like this one near Girona, began popping up all over Spain and selling milk directly from farms in 2009.

Need a phone in a big, fat hurry? These Motorola INSTANTMOTO vending machines turned heads when they came online in 2006 and started selling phones, Bluetooth headsets, car chargers and other items in visible, high-traffic areas.

This "Let's Pizza" vending machine in Italy is so much more than a microwave. In just three minutes, it actually kneads dough, spreads sauce, adds cheese and bakes a hot, fresh pie for waiting customers. Price: About $7 a pizza.

If you're on the run — as in, literally on the run — then this sneaker vending machine might be just right for you. It sells Onitsuka Tiger-brand sneakers — the Japanese footwear made famous in the movie "Kill Bill." The machine made a splash when it was unveiled in London in 2008.

Own a large restaurant? Want to be able to harvest as many as 60 heads of lettuce a day? The Japanese company Dentsu Facility Management Inc. says you can do just that with its "Chef's Farm" vending machine, which costs about $90,000. Dentsu officials say proud owners of the machine can expect to recoup their investment in about five years.

Oh Japan, your vending machines are so much fun. This one sells 22-pound bags of rice for $30 to $40, depending on which of the eight rice varieties you choose.

Maybe Japan has overextended itself a teeny bit on this whole vending-machine thing? Check out the feedback about this battery vending machine from Doug Mann of the PhotoMann Travel Photography blog: "The batteries on display in this machine must have been there a long time as they are visibly corroding. Hopefully the batteries bought from the machine are fresher!"

When you've gotta go, you've gotta go — and when you're paperless in Japan, apparently you're expected to fork over some cash. This vending machine at a Tokyo subway station charges about 80 cents for a small package of toilet paper.

Don't get caught in the rain! This vending machine near the Tokyo Dome in Japan sells umbrellas for about $5 to $12 each. As Doug Mann of the PhotoMann Travel Photography blog notes, "You're paying for convenience since the cheap umbrellas can be found for much less elsewhere."

Yes, even the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board tried to hop on the vending-machine craze. It launched enormous self-serve wine kiosks at grocery stores in 2010, but pulled the plug on them a little more than a year later after they failed to click with customers.