Vending machines have come a long way from their roots. From their simple beginning as a way to sell postcards in the late 1880s, vending machines now sell everything from a pack of gum to shiny new cars.

As the technology improves so does the ubiquitous vending machine. Tired of looking for quarters to buy your soda? Vending machines may soon become cash-free machines with people paying for goods through credit and debit cards. Other alternative payment methods would include the use of smartphones that use wireless data sharing protocol known as near-field communication. Soon people will be paying with Google Wallet or other similar payment methods.

Vending machines will also use touchscreen technology to make buying goods so much more interactive and informational. Touchscreens can allow consumers to see the item they want with the added information about calorie content. Pepsi is using the touchscreen for its Social Vending System that allows users to give sodas to a friend by entering the recipient's name and mobile number. Users can even record a video message to the recipient right at the vending machine. The gift can be redeemed at any Pepsi Social Vending system. In Japan vending machines can now recognize a consumer by their personalized avatar. Consumers can snap a photo of the QR code which will log them in the machine. Users can then pick an avatar that they can customize. The vending machine will recognize the customer the next time they log in and can even remember birthdays.

Perhaps the biggest change in current vending machines is the amount of specialization a machine can provide. In Japan where there is one vending machine per 23 people, machines can sell products from neckties, to hot meals to pornography. There are vending machines for every product under the sun. Here's a look at some of the weirdest vending machines around the world.

Japan