You know the world is a crazy place. People all over the world are into some absurd hobbies and pastimes. It's just scary when, once in a while, you see such a hobby in action. In action, in place or available in an innocent looking vending machine, you get the gist.

As some might have guessed, the topic in question is about Japan's strange vending machines. Specifically, it is about vending machines that sell underwear which have been donned by school girls. Eh, what? Apparently, it's just as it sounds. Amongst those going for all sorts of adult entertainment, there was a need for such underwear. And some folks decided to step in and cater to this niche market.

You'd think this was one of those "Yea, right" stories. It's not quite like that. Snopes actually did a brilliant background story about this particular industry. Seems like there was quite a kerfuffle about these machines and thus, they got rid of them. Well, not quite, since pictures of these machines have continued to pop up all over the place.

Link to the Snopes article

There was also a recent picture of these vending machines featured along with other less strange Japanese vending machines. It was dated to 2002 and so I'm not sure if these are still around. It was just creepy to see the packages nicely lined up for customers to choose from.

I don't mean for this to be disrespectful of Japan. Some might allude that such sales are in demand because of Japanese fascination with girlish looks and demeanor. There might be a truth to this or there might be some deeper cultural workings going on, who knows. One of the weirdest bit here is the readiness with which Japanese entrepreneurs are honing in on a niche. The ethics of such actions aside, doesn't that make you wonder if this in itself brings decreases problems in other parts of society? I mean, do you think theft from clothing lines went down once these machines were introduced? The theory follows that if there is a demand, then lack of a source would mean the questionable underwear fans would be seeking it out in other places - clothing lines, by working part-time in a laundromat, etc. Just wondering.