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Some vending machines in Japan are designed to give out free drinks during an emergency [0]. That could be one of the reasons why there are so many well-maintained vending machines everywhere, even in remote areas.

[0] http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/16-things-you-didnt-...

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That is such a sensible idea that it will never catch on anywhere else.

that's because everywhere else people will just break them open during an emergency. which i think is probably the more reasonable thing to do for everywhere else.

The machine already has communication equipment for stock alerts. The disaster feature is just a bit more code.

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