Unusual Vending Machines - A woman takes a pack of candy

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A woman takes a pack of candy pack from a manual vending machine in Tokyo. An employee hands out the item purchased after customers insert coins into the machine's coin slot. (Reuters/Toshiyuki Aizawa)

In This Pic : Unusual Vending Machines

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Gold vending machine, it's the ultimate hole-in-the-wall -- a vending machine that dispenses pure gold. But installed beneath the gold-coated ceilings of Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace hotel, where royalty and billionaires come for cappuccinos topped with gold flakes, the machine almost seems part of the furniture.(Reuters/Mosab Omar)

In This Pic : Unusual Vending Machines

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The crab dispenser was designed by Shi Tuanjie, Chairman of the Nanjing Shuanghu Crab Industrial Company, who came out with the idea of a crab dispenser 3 years ago. This is the first live crab vending machine in China, and was installed on October 1, 2010. Customers are promised a compensation of 3 live crabs if their purchase is dead. The machine sells an average of 200 live crabs daily.

In This Pic : Unusual Vending Machines

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Cupcake-dispensing machine, where purchases are made by credit card. A woman makes a purchase from the Cupcake ATM at Sprinkles Cupcake Bakery in New York City's Upper East Side in Manhattan.(Reuters/Mike Segar)

In This Pic : Unusual Vending Machines

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Now, a condom on the move! Condom vending machines are placed in public toilets, subway stations, airports or schools as a public health measure to promote safe sex. Condom vending machines were introduced in 1928 by Julius Fromm's company.

In This Pic : Unusual Vending Machines