- [Narrator] Vending
machines are so awesome, so why does it seem that they only sell snacks and drinks nowadays? From a machine that accepts
hugs instead of money, to robotic convenience stores, let's take a look at 20 machines
that should exist in more places around the world. - Amazing. - [Narrator] Number 20. Cola Hug Vending Machine. Most machines accept cash,
some credit or debit cards. A few may even accept Bitcoin. But this machine at a university
in Singapore spits out drinks in exchange for hugs. Hey, even vending machines
get lonely, right? A company spokesperson says
this is a marketing initiative called Open Happiness to put
a smile on people's faces and help them share an
emotional connection. They plan to release more
machines across Asia. Number 19. Umbrella vending machine. It seems that whenever I
forget to bring an umbrella, I get caught in a downpour. That's why we should
have more of these free umbrella-dispensing machines. Dydo Drinco stocks the sides
of its machines with umbrellas left behind on trains. These are provided by
several railway companies, and the machines are
in sixteen prefectures. Seventy percent of people
who borrow the umbrellas eventually return them to the machines. It's an amazing concept, and
one even startups are starting to capitalize on. Elsewhere in Vancouver, UmbraCity
has a service you sign up for for free umbrellas. If the umbrella isn't returned
to one of the kiosks within 48 hours, the user's credit card is charged twp dollars
for each overdue day, up to a maximum of 20 dollars. So the service is effectively
free, if you're careful enough to return your umbrella in time. Number 18. Random jackpot machine. Sometimes I'd like to
have a random slot machine appear out of nowhere. No need to drive to the nearest casino. This vending machine isn't
exactly a slot machine, but for about 1,000 yen,
or nine American dollars, it's a real gamble what you'll get. It could be anything! Supposedly, everything
in the machine is worth at least nine dollars,
but don't expect too much. This guy got a cat hat he
probably wore one time. Also in Japan, you'll find this
unusual mystery box machine. Each box tells a little story,
and inside is a random snack. I just hope it isn't another
new flavor of potato chipss. Number 17. Band Merch. It's annoying when you're at a concert and want to buy souvenirs, but don't want to leave the show, or wait in a long line later. French rock band Phoenix decided
to do something about it, so they created a vending
machine, the Super Mercato. They took it on the road with
them, and their record label noted it was well-received, allowing people to pay with
credit cards and buy without having to wait in a long
line at a merchandise tables. Number 16. This coffee vending vachine. This seems like a miracle. Dutch coffee company Douwe
Egbert has created a vending machine that dispenses free coffee. All you have to do is yawn at it. The machine uses facial recognition
software to track muscle movements in the face. When it detects a yawn, it pours coffee into a
cup for the sleepy person. The company's strategy was
to place the machine in South Africa's busy O. R. Tambo airport and give free coffee to tired travelers, assuming they'd love the coffee so much they would eventually start buying it. Number 15. School medicine. CVS Pharmacy decided to make
some of its products more accessible by placing them in
vending machines across the country, in busy places like airports, public transit stations, office
parks, and college campuses. One Reddit user uploaded a
picture of their school's CVS machine, and users immediately
noted that it was already sold out of Pedialyte, a frequent hangover remedy
on college campuses. Not that I remember. Anyway, the machine also stocks other over-the-counter remedies,
personal care and hygiene items, healthy snacks and beverages, and even office items like phone chargers. Unlike most vending machines,
it features an on-screen menu which offers expansive
info about each product. Number 14. Ikea spare parts. The worst thing about putting
together Ikea furniture, is that if you lose even
the tiniest of pieces, you won't be able to
put together your item. That's why we need more of these machines. Some stores have them, you
pay a dollar for each piece, but you also get a coupon
for about the same amount off in their restaurant. I guess that's a good
way to get you to spend even more time in Ikea. Number 13. Lego vending machine. Going on a long train journey? This train station has
a Lego vending machine. The last-minute building sets are sold to keep the kids busy on a long trip. That's all fun and games,
until the conductor steps on one of those tiny pieces! Ouch! Number 12. Pencil vending machine. Here's a way to stop students
from getting away with writing anything down because they
ran out of stationary. Simply install stationary
vending machines at schools. Now that would solve a lot of issues. Its convenient and helps
fund the schools themselves. Number 11. Fresh orange juice machine. I love freshly-squeezed orange juice, but who has time to squeeze oranges? Fortunately, there's a
vending machine for that. Touted as from tree to your cup, this machine squeezes oranges
into juice while you watch. The juice comes out ice cold, and the machine cleans itself every day. Number 10. Manicure machine. Don't you just hate it when
you can't get an appointment to get your nails done? Fortunately now we don't have to wait, just visit the manicure vending machine. Its interactive menu
allows you to choose from more than 5,000 patterns, including tiny pictures of celebrities. Once you pick your pattern, you just stick your hand inside and the machine takes care of the rest. Number 9. Hot burgers. Sometimes fast food
just isn't fast enough, when you have to wait in line and shout an order at a menu board. Well, this machine makes you a hot burger without all the hassle. You do have to get out of your car though. The machine offers a variety of specials, but no word on whether you can
get that with extra ketchup. Not in the mood for burgers? The BurritoBox makes you a hot burrito in less than 90 seconds. Lose your money or have another problem? Good thing you can video chat with an on-call customer
service specialist. Number Eight. Salad machine. Burgers and burritos aside, who says you can't get anything healthy out of a vending machine? The Farmer's Fridge machine
offers a variety of salad bowls. They're discounted by one dollar, starting at 6 PM every evening. Unsold bowls are frequently
donated to local food pantries, so nothing goes to waste. Number Seven. Flowers. In the Netherlands, this looks
like a florist's store front, but it's actually a large vending machine. The flowers are behind glass, and the doors open after you pay. Meanwhile, this hospital vending machine provides flowers 24/7. Why pay humans to get
bored waiting for customers when they can serve
themselves with this machine? Number Six. Baguette. How about a nice, hot baguette? In France, these long
bread loaves are popular, but most bakeries aren't open 24/7. What do you do when you
have a carb craving? You head to one of these machines. The specially formulated dough
is only cooked partially, and when you pay one euro, the
machine cooks it the rest of the way in just a few minutes, providing you with a fresh baguette. Number Five. Books. Low-income neighborhoods
are often book deserts where children have
limited access to books. Unfortunately, this can
impact their reading skills and background knowledge
when they start school, and for the rest of their lives. JetBlue started a program
called Soar With Reading, where they place book vending machines in these low income areas, and kids can check out the
books like at a library. For adults, there's
the Biblio-Mat machine, which dispenses a random
book for two dollars. Number Four. Live gold fish. Did Jaws, your pet goldfish
just bite the dust? The only way to somewhat ease
the pain is head over to the Submarine Catcher, which is
kind of like a claw machine, but for a live goldfish. If you manage to catch one, it's yours, but as you can see, it's not easy to catch a moving fish in a cup. It would be a great addition
to a pet fish store. Still, I can't help but think
the overpopulated tank is a little cruel, and it must
be a pain to maintain! If you want a more robust
fishing experience, you can stop by the Gold Coast
Live Bait vending machine, and pick up everything from
worms to squid to bait up. They have more than a hundred
machines on the east coast, and claim their bait is fresher than anything else on the market. Number Three. Automated convenience store. The first person to imagine
an automated convenience store was Clarence Saunders, who started the Piggly Wiggly chain, which was the first self-service store. Prior to this concept, cashiers
would find your goods at the checkout for you, much
like a modern-day pharmacy. This inspired the design
of modern grocery stores, with checkouts at the front. But he wasn't done yet. He also designed the Keedoozle, which was like a large vending machine. Customers served themselves
by turning a key and choosing how many of each item they wanted. Sadly, 1940's technology
wasn't quite up to the task, especially during busy times, and the Keedoozle was short-lived. It doesn't mean the idea
has died out though. Today, Shop24 has a similar but
more easily executed design. It carries convenience store
items, like milk, candy, and laundry soap, and has
an automated checkout. Smartmart is another
automated convenience store, where customers can use an
interactive screen to choose items without ever leaving their car. Four ports offer a touch
screen for choosing items, a credit card reader, ID
reader, and cash machine. There's also the vending
machine in Barcelona which offers a large array of drinks and snacks with an automated checkout. France offers something similar. The 24h/24 automated shop, open all hours. Number Two. Rent a bike dispenser in the Netherlands. This bike vending machine
was introduced in 2005 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. It's a rental machine and
users return their bike when they're done with it. If you "forget" to return your bike, the machine's owners will track
it down with its RFID chip. Number One. Robomart. Here's an autonomous grocery store that drives itself to you. It's not a delivery service in which someone else picks out your groceries. Instead the mart is a large
van that drives its entire inventory to you, after you
call and schedule a visit, and you pick through its stock. There's no need to check yourself out, as you set up an account
and payment method when you download the app and order the visit. When you're done, Robomart drives away. Talk about meals on wheels! What's the most
interesting vending machine you've ever seen? And which one do you
think we need the most? Let me know in the
comment section down below and thanks for watching!
Reference is at minute 3:30.