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"The vending machine has come a long way since the first postcard dispensing machines were seen in London in the 1880s. \nWhile soda and snack machines are now commonplace, the vending machine has gone beyond convenience to curio, dispensing bizarre objects to those with the correct change to purchase them.\nTake a look through the video gallery below for all manner of unusual automated goods. Let us know in the comments what would be your dream vending machine, and why. \n\n\n10 Peculiar Vending Machines\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. Shoes\nWould you consider buying footwear from a vending machine? Onitsuka Tiger hopes you might.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. Bread\nEnterprising French baker Jean-Louis Hecht offers fresh bread 24 hours a day thanks to his \"automated baguette dispenser\".\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. Robot Santa\nFrankly terrifying, this Japanese robo-Santa can dispense MUJI gifts -- or swift justice, probably. We've been nice Santa-bot, we promise! \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. Pizza \nIn just two-and-a-half minutes this vending machine will infrared you up a hot pizza pie. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. Books\nThis novel machine makes you up a book that's out of stock, or even out of print, within minutes. Um, then they invented eBooks...\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. Eggs\nWhile this might look like a drop-from-a-height vending machine, this is the urban equivalent of egg boxes stacked by the side of the road and an honesty box.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. Gold\nWell where the heck else are you going to buy your gold bullion?\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. Balloons\nThis is tons more fun than handing over money to a grumpy street vendor.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. Live Crabs \nScrummy, live crabs from a vending machine! Everyone wins! Oh wait, maybe not the crabs...\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. Luxury!\nAt the Mondrian at South Beach, Miami, this luxury vending machine offers everything from toothbrushes to sports cars. The latter of which will require a lot of quarters.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThumbnail image courtesy of Dominic Alves"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/09/18/peculiar-vending-machines/>