When you think “vending machine,” candy bars and cold drinks probably pop into your head. But across America, people have discovered machines selling all sorts of weird stuff. In an internet thread, folks shared their own experiences with finding everything from bizarre curiosities to handy tools in vending machines. And let’s have a look at 11 of them.
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Live bait for fishermen
Need live bait at 5 a.m.? Need to pick up some crickets at midnight? Some vending machines make that possible. Located at fishing destinations, convenience stores and bait shops, the vending machines dispense easy access to worms, crickets and other live bait. For fishermen, they’re a convenient source of last-minute bait when every store is closed.
Champagne bottles
Welcome to next-level vending-machine luxury: a champagne dispenser at the Lexington Hotel in New York City. The little machine, shaped like a squat cylinder with a flip-up top, spits out miniature bottles of Moët & Chandon, rosé or brut, in exchange for a small gold coin from the hotel’s bar. It even dispenses a flute. It’s basically a fancy soda machine, but for champagne.
Capitol Hill mystery soda machine
This was an actual soda machine on Capitol Hill in Seattle. On the corner of East John Street and Broadway (outside of Broadway Locksmith), it was a six-button, retro Coca-Cola vending machine with “MYSTERY” emblazoned on each of its buttons. Purchasing a soda for 75 cents and pressing any one of the buttons would dispense a can of an uncommon or discontinued soda (such as Black Cherry Fresca or Sunkist Cherry Limeade).
People didn’t know who kept the soda machine working and filled its contents, yet the machine had become an urban legend and remains a puzzle to this day. It was last seen in June 2018, when it was temporarily removed for sidewalk construction with a note left behind that said, “Went for a walk.”
Gold bars
You could only see this machine in Florida. A vending machine that dispensed actual gold bars. The “Gold to Go” machine started operating at Town Center Mall in Boca Raton during the year 2010. Customers could choose bars or coins and take them immediately. Prices, reflected on the screen, were always current. It was a sideshow more than a shopping destination, but it pushed vending notions to their outer limits.
Art pieces
Have you ever purchased art from a vending machine? This has been possible for years with Art-o-Mat. Art-o-Mat founder Clark Whittington converted the classic cigarette vending machines into distributors of miniature, handmade pieces created by different artists. There are currently over 200 of these machines in the U.S., so odds are that someone near you can purchase budget-friendly art while on the go.
Live lobster
How would you like a restaurant with a lobster claw machine? That’s what one had in 2012 in Massachusetts. The claw machine was full of live lobsters. They would stay in a tank until someone got one. Health inspectors closed it down because safety standards weren’t met. However, I would still remember it for trying something different.
Hot pizza
PizzaForno is an American vending machine that bakes fresh, 11-inch pizzas in 3–5 minutes. Customers select from cheese, pepperoni, BBQ chicken or vegetarian on a touchscreen interface. PizzaForno machines have special air convection ovens to bake the pizza and are available 24/7. As of 2025 more than 70 PizzaForno machines operate throughout Utah, Michigan, Florida and Texas.
Fresh eggs
These are refrigerated vending machines that dispense fresh eggs directly from local farms. Eggs are available anytime, even when other stores are closed. Glaum Egg Ranch and Wise Acre Farms in California have vending machines that are restocked daily with farm-fresh eggs. Most of the machines accept cash, card or mobile payments and keep the eggs fresh.
Mold-A-Rama machines
Mold-A-Rama machines were first popular in the US in the 1960s. These vending machines produced plastic figurines in front of the customer, typically in museums, zoos, and fairs. The user inserted a coin, watched as melted plastic filled a mold, and received a fresh souvenir in less than a minute. Thousands of these machines remain in operation, for example at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry and the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan.
Beverly Hills caviar automated boutique
This vending machine, located in various shopping centers around the area, including Westfield Topanga and the Hollywood & Highland Center, stocks high-end items like caviar, escargot, truffles, and flavored salts, and it ensures that these products are fresh by providing consistent temperature and humidity controls. Insulated boxes are used for every product, ensuring that even if a customer is a few blocks away, the goods will stay chilled.
Freshly made bread
The Wilkinson Baking Company first released this machine in 2019. The BreadBot automates the entire bread-making process, including mixing, kneading, proofing, and baking. BreadBots have been installed in supermarkets across Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Massachusetts since the initial release. Shoppers can walk away with a freshly baked loaf of bread in minutes, right next to the chips and soda.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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