"vending machines" news and stories

How to explain the rather dull and predictable options when it comes to vending machines in America compared with the rest of the world? Why can't we get on-demand ramen, as the Japanese do. Or, even if we wanted one, a Chinese hairy crab? Sure, as Slashfood reported in May, there are Maine lobsters out there in a machine somewhere, but in the U.S. these aren't exactly around every corner, as they are in many other countries.

Vending machines in America: They're pretty much everywhere you don't want to be. Airports. Hospital waiting rooms. Down a long, fluorescent-lit hall in your office at ten o'clock at night as you curse your boss for another late night and try to cobble together dinner from a bag of chips, some powdered donuts and a Coke. Which is what makes the Village Voice's compilation of "10 Wild and Crazy Food Vending Machines" from around the world so refreshing, from a Chinese contraption that allows you to try to catch your own live hairy crab with a robotic claw to the Dutch automat that serves up croquettes.

Even though it has some of the toughest liquor laws in the country, Pennsylvania is trying to get creative.

The state, which has strict control over the sale of beer, wine and spirits, has set up wine vending machines, the Associated Press reported. The "kiosks" are being tested in two grocery stores and may make an appearance in as many as 100 others around the state if they're a success.

With the swipe of a driver's license, a snap of the camera and after you blow into a breath sensor, you can purchase wine from the machines.

And customers seem to like them, the AP reported.

"This is just convenient one-stop shopping," Darby Golec, told the AP outside a Harrisburg grocery store. "It'll be nice to have it all in one area."

In Italy, you can get a fresh hot pizza out of a vending machine. In Australia, you can get french fries. And in the spirit of catering to the local market, in Moscow, you can now find vending machines that dole out caviar, LA Weekly reported.

A Russian company has installed 33 vending machines across Moscow, including in the mayor's office, that dispense glass jars and tin cans of red salmon roe (fish eggs), a less-pricey version of the caviar that Russians spread on toast and drink with sparkling wine for special events.

Those looking for the black sturgeon varieties -- such as Beluga, Ossetra, and Sevruga -- won't find it in vending machines, London's Telegraph reported, as the high price tag puts it out of reach of most Russians. Black sturgeon caviar harvesting is limited to about 9 tons a year as many varieties have been hunted to near-extinction.

Vending machines aren't just for Kit-Kats and Cokes anymore. You can find everything from fresh-baked pizza (made from scratch!) to live lobsters in vending machines around the world, Travel + Leisure reported.

Want a fresh pizza? In Italy, the "Let's Pizza" vending machine makes four types of pizza from scratch. The machine kneads the dough, spreads on sauce and cheese and toppings, and then bakes your pie in less than three minutes and has taken up residence in shopping malls and airports.

Got a craving for french fries? In Australia, there's a vending machine for that -- Hot Fresh Fries.

The Maine Lobster Game vending machine mixes tasty crustaceans with carnival game, letting "players" catch their own lobsters in a tank. For $3 you get 15 seconds to try and grab a lobster that you can either have cooked up in the restaurant or take to go.

In both California and Japan you can get fresh eggs from a vending machine, Travel + Leisure reported.

Want a Snickers? There's an app for that.

The newest vending machines are interactive, utilizing iPhone technology touch screens and replicating iPhone apps. Instead of seeing physical packages of candy and other snacks, you get virtual images, the Washington Post reported.

When customers press one of the digital images, the animated snack gets larger and slowly rotates to reveal its ingredients and nutritional stats.

Kraft Foods' Diji-Touch was among the cutting-edge vending machines on display on Capitol Hill, where the National Automated Merchandising Association has been lobbying for jobs this week. Unemployment is a concern for the trade group because the country's widespread layoffs mean there are fewer office workers to buy snacks.