Coin operated attractions (from vending to gaming) are fascinating. Being from Kentucky, that means I have an Ale-8 vending (regional drink) machine, because why not. Even the variability within the soft drink category is amazing, yet alone all of the other categories (and things like automats). I was excited to see all of the Mold-A-Rama machines ($5 for an injection molded plastic toy-- <a href="https://www.volocars.com/the-attraction/exhibits/mold-a-rama" rel="nofollow">https://www.volocars.com/the-attraction/exhibits/mold-a-rama</a> here's an example of the machines at a car museum outside of Chicago) at the Henry Ford museum, since the novelty and presentation is just so cool.<p>If you're into eccentric amusements, Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (<a href="http://www.marvin3m.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.marvin3m.com/</a>) near Detroit is one of the neatest places there is. They have all types of working early 20th century amusements all the way to modern coin op machines like pinball and video games.
My favorite vending machine you never knew existed (no not live beetles or panties because you knew about those), is the fresh baguette machines that you can find on small town streets across rural France. There are all kinds of ultrafancy modern vending machines these days, but there's something magical about identifying a real market fit for whole street baguettes.