Unoriginality

Russian Kafe ("Something Interesting About Russia") has a great post with some photos of Soviet soda-water dispensers. So I decided to scour my archives for the best examples of these dinosaur-machines, and found surprising diversity.

The most presentable gazirovannaya voda machine I've ever seen. Disposable cups; bilingual signage (the Russian tag line, "не дай себе засохнуть" - "don't let yourself dry up" - is taken directly from a Sprite ad campaign in Russia); a friendly bunny rabbit - this one has it all.
Chisinau, Moldova, August 1, 2005.

A ramshackle bank of machines, still apparently in use.
Tiraspol, Transnistria, Moldova. Aug. 7, 2006, shortly before 5pm.

A bank of brightly repainted machines serves as a gathering point for some of Chisinau's down-and-out.
August 7, 2006, shortly before noon.

Bukhara, Uzbekistan, July 22, 2005. Smartly redone in pastel shades, this machine offers different prices for water with flavored syrup and without. The sign on the building in the upper right-hand corner offers an amazing array of services: umbrella repair, artistic engraving, and license-plate painting.