The 9 Strangest Vending Machines Ever
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vending machines dispensing gold bullion were recently introduced in Tokyo, Berlin, Vegas, Abu Dhabi, and elsewhere -- sparking tongue-in-cheek speculation about the sorts of goods people might purchase form cashier-less machines in the future. (Sean Gallup/Time & Life Pictures)
A man purchases fresh flowers from a vending machine in Berlin, 1930. (Imagno/Time & Life Pictures)
What? You didn't know you could get airline insurance from a vending machine? Well, at least in the 1960s. (Carl Iwasaki/Time & Life Pictures)
A model poses next to a vending machine selling bikinis in 1962. (Hulton Archive/Time & Life Pictures)
A student displays a vending machine design during the 2009 Young Designers Exhibition, YODEX, at the World Trade Center in Taipei, May 2009. ( )
Hotel guests check out the selection available at the Semi-Automatic, a vending machine that dispenses items costing anywhere from $10 to hundreds of thousands of dollars (a yacht trip, a penthouse condo, a BMW motorcycle) at the Mondrian hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. For the more expensive items purchasers receive a bag with a voucher that can be redeemed for the desired item. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A woman buys a new pair of nylons from a stocking vending machine in Stockholm in 1956, and changes into them in a doorway. (John Firth/Getty Images)
At the Second Automatic Vending Exhibition in London in 1960, a woman helps herself to a vending machine-mixed whisky and soda. (Ron Case/Getty Images)
Three women enjoy soup from a Campbell's Soup vending machine in their office. The woman on the right opens a can of soup with a floor-mounted can opener.<a href="http://www.life.com/gallery/55891/in-praise-of-vending-machines"> See more wacky vending machines at LIFE.com</a>. (Authenticated News/Time & Life Pictures)