8 curious vending machines

For $4.25, Sprinkles bakery's New York machine sells cinnamon-chocolate and other flavors of cupcakes. Sprinkles opened its first "Cupcake ATM" in California in 2012 and also has machines in Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas.

Just arrived in Melbourne, Australia, without this important cycling accessory? Helmets sold in vending machines come in three sizes and one design.

Where better than the University of Southern California campus to find the first-ever burrito vending machine?

Packed in shiny containers offering more than a dozen choices of delicate fish eggs from around the globe, this Los Angeles-based machine dispenses caviar in 25-gram tins (around $25) and party boxes of 400 grams ($999.95).

To embrace Australian culture, you need to wear flip-flops, or thongs as they're locally known. Say thank you to the Havaianas flip-flop vending machine.

It might not be a common midnight emergency purchase, but for those who do find themselves in need of gold to go, Dubai provides.

This Canadian vending machine allows you to get a secondhand book for a mere $2, as well as giving you the opportunity to donate a book for the next reader.

You know you've landed somewhere with inclement weather (Vancouver) when there's an umbrella vending machine at the airport. More so when it's empty.

• In Japan you can buy beer, eggs, bras, live lobsters, salad and neckties from vending machines


• The cupcake ATM has hit New York


• Gold and flip-flops are two more things you can buy from the vending machines on our list

(CNN) -- Legend has it the first machine dispensed holy water in exchange for a coin in ancient Egypt.

Tobacco vending machines have been around since the 1600s.

Want pot? Head to the vending machine

2012: 'ATM' doles out cupcakes

2012: Vending machines for medicine in China

2011: Need a pizza? Try this vending machine

Then came soft drinks, chocolate bars, bubble gum and condoms.

Now, vending machines can be used for anything small enough to be lifted out of a tray, it seems.

Japan has embraced the concept wholeheartedly, selling eggs, bras, live lobsters, salad, cold and hot coffee, ties and, reportedly, even used underwear from machines.

Other countries are catching on.

1. Cupcakes (New York)

In the land where "small cakes baked in cups" were first mentioned in a recipe book in the 1700s, it's not surprising the hand-held cake has gone 24/7.

Stocked with up to 750 cupcakes baked daily in the adjoining Sprinkles bakery, this sugar-pink vending machine sells cupcakes around the clock.

For $4.25 you get to choose from cinnamon chocolate, black and white and seasonal specialties such as Irish chocolate and maple bacon.

There's even a doggie cupcake for your pooch, giving you an excuse to stop by when on "walkies."

Sprinkles opened its first "cupcake ATM" in California in 2012 and has also installed the machines in Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas.

Where to find it: 780 Lexington Ave., New York

MORE: Japan's love affair with the vending machine continues

How angry do people get when this one doesn't spit out their purchase?

2. Gold bars (Dubai, UAE)

You might not often need to buy a gold bar in the middle of the night, but in the United Arab Emirates, the tradition of gifting gold on holidays, festivals and special occasions is still going strong.

At the Gold ATM you can purchase anything from a 2.5-gram, 24-karat gold coin to a rather more substantial 31-gram (one ounce) gold bar.

You even have a choice of designs: a locally significant Burj Khalifa design or a kangaroo or Canadian maple leaf.

The price stays up to date via the Internet, it's refreshed every 60 seconds.

Where to find it : Lower Ground Floor, next to entrance to Burj Khalifa Observation Deck At The Top, Dubai Mall, Down Town, Dubai, UAE

3. Flip-flops (Sydney)

Flip-flops, or thongs as they're locally known, are part of the uniform in this country of sunshine, surfer dudes and an all-embracing relaxed attitude.

If you've arrived unprepared, the Havaianas flip-flop vending machine in Sydney's city center could be your sole salvation.

You're at the mercy of the machine for sizes and styles, but for $20 you're good to kick off your city shoes and hop to the beach.

Where to find it: Ground level, The Galleries, 500 George St., Sydney, NSW, Australia

MORE: Bananas and haircare products: Tokyo's curious vending machines

4. Umbrellas (Vancouver, British Columbia)

You know that you've landed somewhere with inclement weather when there's an umbrella vending machine at the airport.

One of the wettest cities in Canada with an average of 57 inches of rain per year, Vancouver prides itself in its mild climate, but gives you the option to be prepared.

For $5 you get a pocket-sized umbrella and ... well that's it.

Where to find it: Level 1, domestic arrivals just before the exit to public transportation, Vancouver Airport, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Can't put a price on safety. Actually this machine does: $5.

5. Bicycle helmets (Melbourne, Australia)

People clad in Lycra populate Aussie roads, but they stay safe -- it's illegal in Australia to ride a bike without a helmet.

If you've just arrived and want to cycle around the sights, you can pop into one of the many 7-Elevens in town to get a brain bucket.

If you're alighting at Southern Cross Station in the heart of Melbourne, however, you can get one out of a machine.

Three sizes, one design, $5, and you have a stylish blue helmet that's safe and legal.

Where to find it : Southern Cross Station, near the rental bike stand on Spencer Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

6. Caviar (Los Angeles)

Caviar and vending machines?

Beverly Hills, stronghold of the obscenely well-to-do, is home to not one but three caviar vending machines.

Called Caviar Automated Boutiques, these upscale vendors offer more than a dozen types of caviar from all over the world, packed in shiny containers offering anything from a tasty morsel at 25 grams (around $25) to party boxes of 400 grams ($999.95).

Where to find it: Westfield Topanga, Level 2, 6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park, California

MORE: Heartwarming, hilarious: Most bizarre hotel guest requests

7. Books (Canada)

It's a universally acknowledged truth that those in possession of too many unread books continue to buy new ones.

Green Reads offers a solution: a book vending machine that allows you to get a good secondhand book for $2, as well as giving you the opportunity to donate a book for the next reader.

The machines are located in commuter-dense areas such as train stations, hospitals and airports.

A portion of proceeds earned by the machines are donated to female literacy and numeracy programs in Africa.

Where to find it: The prototype is at Barrie Transit Downtown terminal, 24 Maple Ave., Barrie, Ontario

8. Burritos (Los Angeles)

Students' diets are notoriously bad, so what better place than the University of Southern California campus for the first-ever burrito vending machine?

For $3.75 you can get a hot, steaming burrito.

So that busy students don't get too bored while being idle for the 90 seconds it takes to dispense, they can watch a music video while the robotic machine puts their food together.

Where to find it? Parkside Apartments, 3730 McClintock Ave., USC, Los Angeles

MORE: 15 bizarre items left behind by travelers

Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey is a freelance writer based in Melbourne, Australia. She's the author of "Living Abroad in Australia" by Moon Travel Guides.

Celebs crash pop-up restos

Pop-up pioneer and food blogger Kerstin Rodgers, aka Ms Marmitelover, started one of the first supper clubs at her home in Kilburn, London, in 2009. She says the new brand of "pop-up restaurant" just isn't the same.

Rene Redzepi, head chef of Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, got mixed reviews for his pop-up at swanky Claridge's hotel in London in 2012. Could be the $330 a head price tag. Could be the foraged menu.

Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster in Harlem opened a two-month pop-up in June at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess in Bermuda. A number of big name chefs are turning the once low-key pop-up experience into something more sophisticated.

Chef Heston Blumenthal, known for molecular gastronomy, will be transporting the concepts behind his three Michelin-starred Fat Duck restaurant from a village in England to a casino in Melbourne for six months in 2015.

High-end dining, such as that offered by The Supper Club, has also evolved out of the pop-up idea.

Actor Elijah Wood deejayed at one of The Supper Club's events. Celebrities are said to be regulars on the carefully vetted guest lists.

• Celebrity chefs like Noma's Rene Redzepi and Heston Blumenthal are cashing in on the pop-up restaurant trend


• Pop-up restaurants started as illegal, privately owned eateries that sprang up after the Cuban revolution


• Pop-up pioneer Kerstin Rodgers thinks posh dining clubs and celebrity chefs are the antithesis of the pop-up movement


• New type of dinner club uses pop-up restaurants to test out cutting-edge food concepts

(CNN) -- The original "pop-up restaurants" were secretive affairs.

Called "supper clubs," they were hosted in private homes, the locations of which were revealed at the last minute via social media or guerrilla advertising.

These underground gatherings of complete strangers were inspired by a love of food and seen as an act of rebellion against the established restaurant trade.

Are celebrity chefs stealing the show?

Today, the idea is increasingly hijacked by celebrity chefs and big corporations.

Everyone from Pierre Koffmann to Rene Redzepi to Gordon Ramsay are "popping up" in locations away from their home turf.

Exclusive and expensive pop-up dining clubs, membership for which can run into thousands of dollars, have also evolved out of the pop-up idea, to become part of the world's high-end dining scene.

The latest interpretation is from molecular gastronomy chef Heston Blumenthal, who'll be transporting his three Michelin-starred Fat Duck restaurant from a village in England to a casino in Melbourne, Australia for six months in 2015.

Other celebrity chefs jumping the pop-up bandwagon include:

• Rene Redzepi, head chef of Copenhagen's Noma restaurant. He ran a pop-up at the swanky Claridges hotel in London for 10 days. At nearly $330 a head, his menu featured dishes like live ants and flowers. Opinion was divided about whether his restaurant, which focuses on locally foraged food, had traveled well.

• Celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli. He braved accusations of selling out by creating a one-day pop-up restaurant in London to showcase ingredients from discount supermarket chain Aldi.

• Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster in Harlem, who opened a two-month pop-up in June at The Fairmont Hamilton Princess in Bermuda.

• One of the most unusual pop-ups was on the London Eye. A capsule on the giant ferris wheel was transformed into a dining room with menus from the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Ireland's Richard Corrigan.

So are celebs and big money enterprises cashing in on and corrupting what should be an authentic, fun foodie experience?

Or are pop-ups a natural training ground for future stars and novel dining experiences?

MORE: The world's best restaurant is...

A sign of the times

Pop-up restaurants have their roots in Latin America where illegal, privately owned eateries called paladares (meaning palate) sprang up after the Cuban Revolution.

The trend spread to the East Coast in the United States and London in the UK in the 2000s, run by foodies in their homes and unknown chefs in venues like disused warehouses or pubs.

Supper clubs gave the hosts a chance to experiment with cooking and guests loved the risque feel.

A chance for rising chefs

Food blogger Kerstin Rodgers says celebs don't get the pop-up idea.

Pop-ups offer rising chefs the chance to get their name known without all the investment and risk of opening a physical restaurant.

Many now-famous chefs cut their teeth on temporary restaurants.

Ludo Lefebvre of Trois Mec in Los Angeles previously ran Ludobites, a series of pop-ups across the city selling affordable, high-end food.

Tom Collins of Bistrotheque ran the UK's first "guerilla" restaurant in a converted brewery in east London in 2006.

Pop-up pioneer and food blogger Kerstin Rodgers, aka Ms Marmitelover, started one of the first supper clubs at her home in London in 2009.

"I was cooking in various cafes and didn't have the money to start my own restaurant," she says.

"This was a way to cook without having to pay for premises and staff and without taking all the risks of opening a new restaurant."

Her first event cost just $16 -- now she charges $67 for themed suppers and can cater for 20 people in her living room.

"It's good for tourism because people from abroad can come and eat in a Londoner's home. It's good value food cooked from scratch, which can't be said of many restaurants nowadays," she adds.

Stealing the show

"I'm an original punk and I think there are parallels between the punk movement and supper clubs," says Rodgers.

"Punks hate all these bloated rock stars sitting in tax exile in their mansions and in a sense supper clubs were a reaction to bloated and overpriced restaurants."

Posh dining clubs and celebrity chefs are the antithesis of the pop-up movement, she believes.

"What I find disappointing is there have been a lot of opportunists who don't understand the roots of it, piling in with their big backers and marketing teams and pretending to do the same thing, and they're not."

MORE: Best airport restaurants around the world

Social side

Unlike some modern dining clubs, which require a big annual fee and a recommendation to become a member, the original supper clubs were open to an eclectic mix of people.

Stephanie Biden runs a Thai-themed supper club in her home in southwest London. She saw Jamie Oliver visit a New York supper club on TV and thought she'd try it.

"One of the great things is that if you invite friends around for dinner you tend to spend time thinking about who would be a good combination of guests to invite, and on the night your attention is divided between hosting and cooking.

"With a supper club you don't have to worry about that. You can focus on the cooking and preparing the best food you can," she says.

"It's been a great way of getting friends and acquaintances from different parts of your life to meet one another. The dynamic is unique, lively and informal -- it's neither like a dinner party, nor like going to a restaurant."

Actor Elijah Wood was a DJ at one Supper Club event.

Exclusive club

But supper clubs are becoming increasingly commercial enterprises.

Tamsin Lonsdale runs The Supper Club. It has 1,000 members who pay $3,000-4,000 each for an annual membership offering access to monthly dinner parties in New York, Los Angeles and London.

Uma Thurman, Christian Slater and Naomi Campbell are just some of the celebrities joining other personally vetted guests at her lavish events.

"It's good to have something for everyone. The pop-up scene has more variety in it nowadays especially in America," she says.

"Some are bring your own, some are very foodie-orientated. I try to marry the food, chef and the people. The suppers are structured and organized but our members like that structure -- they can't just drop everything at a moment's notice.

"Of course I'm in it to make money but I genuinely love meeting new people and it's a relationship thing -- you can't put a price on that.

Her role is to "curate" a dinner party, she says, similar to an art exhibition. She brings together different people. The only criteria is they must be "shining stars" in their field, whether surgeon or entrepreneur.

MORE: Pop-up hotels, catch them while you can

Testing food trends

A different kind of pop-up club is Dinner Lab, which tests out cutting-edge food concepts in pop-up restaurants in 10 cities across the United States.

The aim is to discover the latest food trends and offer undiscovered chefs the chance to experiment, says 20-something CEO Brian Bordainick. It costs $100-$175 to become a member and then $60-$80 per event which includes food and alcohol, in venues ranging from helipads to piers.

"For most chefs, the restaurant decides what they will be cooking. Artists like having a free rein to be creative and we give them a platform to do it," says Bordainick.

"We help them get out of the shadow of the head chef and hone in on which concepts could be a success. We're trying to figure who and what's next."

Every course is rated by up to 120 guests, and the aim is to eventually open permanent restaurants using the research.

"We're experimenting in a way where we throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks," says Bordainick. "It allows people to try out experimental dishes in a very approachable way.

"Pop-ups are no different from any type of trend, it's only a matter of time before it makes its way into big organizations who try to homogenize it. But I say, different strokes for different folks."

Future

It was always going to be hard for underground restaurants to stay underground forever.

Celebrity chefs and big business cashing in on the scene don't seem to have dented the popularity of temporary restaurants ranging from home-cooked grub in someone's living room to innovative cuisine in an aircraft hanger.

Expect the pop-up to keep popping up.

Claire Hu is a wine, food, culture and travel journalist based in South Africa.

Tea lover's guide to China

Just south of Hangzhou's West Lake, Longjing is home to China's most celebrated green tea.

Amid temples, pagodas and gardens that line the shores of nearby West Lake, you'll find many small tea houses serving longjing tea.

Longjing's tea villages and plantations, many open to the public, are connected by a cycle pathway and bus route.

Oolong tea, a fragrant partially oxidized tea midway between green teas such as longjing and black teas such as pu'er, originates in southern China's Fujian Province.

The most famous and expensive oolong teas come from Wuyi Mountain in southern China's Fujian Province.

Pu'er is a fermented and aged black tea with a complex, earthy taste.

Pu'er is usually pressed into cakes and allowed to age so that its complexity and flavor improves over time, much like a good wine.

The area of southern Yunnan where pu'er tea is produced lies adjacent to Myanmar, Laos and the Mekong River.

• Tea tourism in China is relatively new, but growing in popularity among foreign and domestic travelers


• Like wine, tea's final flavor is influenced heavily by terroir -- the microclimate in which it's grown


• Three top areas for tea lovers are Longjing, Wuyi Mountain and Yunnan

(CNN) -- Tea, that most ordinary of beverages, was once so highly prized that traders, travelers and seafarers risked their lives to bring the precious cargo from China to the rest of the world.

Now, a small but growing band of tea aficionados is traveling across the country in pursuit of tea at its source, fueled by an appreciation of China's ancient tea culture and traditions and a more modern interest in green methods of cultivation and artisanal production.

Tea tourism within China is still a relatively new phenomenon, gaining traction in the last few years and generally associated with an educated and upwardly mobile Chinese middle class.

For Chinese people, traveling for tea brings with it a certain cachet.

"In most public schools, there is no formal education about tea, so one's knowledge of the subject proves you have traveled, and studied about tea on your own," says tea guide Michael Wang. "In others' eyes, you are not only educated but cultivated."

MORE: One drink, 1,000 tastes: How tea has conquered the world

'Understanding begins with a single cup'

Tea expert and guide Tracy Lesh specializes in bringing Chinese tea culture to foreign travelers and expats within China -- a small portion of her clientele are Chinese people who appreciate her depth of knowledge.

Lesh began arranging tea tours more than five years ago when she realized there was a growing interest in learning not just about the tea itself, but the culture surrounding it.

"Americans are overwhelmed and undereducated about Chinese tea culture," she says.

"Many aren't aware of the benefits of loose-leaf teas and are mainly drinking teas blended with fruits and flowers. It takes a lifetime to appreciate tea, but understanding begins with just a single cup."

Chinese tea tourists tend to have a different focus than Westerners when it comes to visiting a tea area.

Wang says non-Chinese look for a sense of adventure and don't mind hiking into the tea terraces. They have a strong interest in seeing production methods firsthand and picking tea for themselves, but don't yet understand the culture of tea.

"Foreigners have difficulty understanding the delicate taste of xian (savory) and huigan (sweetness) in tea," Wang says.

Chinese visitors, on the other hand, place an emphasis on relaxing and drinking tea without the need to hike into the tea plantation or pick leaves.

They often use artisanal teas as gifts for building good business relationships and are interested in learning gongfu tea -- a refined way of serving tea involving proper vessels, brewing techniques and atmosphere that takes patience and skill to master.

Like good wine, tea's final flavor is influenced heavily by terroir -- the microclimate in which it's grown.

For those interested in taking a tea tour, below are three starting points, corresponding to three of China's most well known teas, each different in climate, geography and taste.

MORE: How to drink Chinese tea

Longjing is filled with small tea houses and is home to the China National Tea Museum.

Longjing (Dragon Well) green tea

Located just south of Hangzhou province's beautiful West Lake, Longjing is home to China's most celebrated green tea, which is the color of jade and has the fresh aroma of chestnuts and cut grass.

The best time to visit the area is during China's Qing Ming Festival (usually April) when most picking and roasting take place.

Longjing's tea villages and plantations -- many are open to the public -- are connected by a cycle pathway and bus route.

Longjing is home to the China National Tea Museum.

Among the temples, pagodas and gardens lining the shores of nearby West Lake sit many small tea houses where longjing tea can be enjoyed in a relaxed atmosphere.

Hangzhou is reached by high-speed train from Shanghai's Hongqiao Railway Station. Trains run every 30 minutes and take one hour.

Tracy Lesh and Michael Wang arrange small group tea tours to the Longjing tea terraces year round (shanghaiandbeyond.com ; +86 159 009 03998).

China National Tea Museum , 88 Longjing Road, West Lake, Hangzhou; +86 571 8796 4221; open 9 a.m.-5 p.m., May-October 7; 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., October 8-April 30;

closed Mondays; free admission

MORE: Longjing Village: Hangzhou's ultimate green tea experience

Oolong tea originally comes from southern China's Fujian Province.

Wuyi Mountain oolong tea

Oolong tea, a fragrant partially oxidized tea midway between green teas like longjing and black teas like pu'er, has its origins in southern China's Fujian province.

The most famous of Fujian's oolongs, da hong pao or "big red robe" tea comes from Wuyi Mountain, a UNESCO-protected natural heritage site rich with rare and animal life, centered around the pristine Nine Twists River.

Genuine da hong pao is picked from just a few ancient tea trees high on Wuyi Mountain and is unobtainable to all but the wealthiest and most influential, but oolong plantations in the surrounding hills produce wonderful teas too.

Like wine, the terroir of these teas is demonstrated by oolong's floral notes, which are subtly different according to the orientation, altitude and soil mineral content of the hillside on which the tea is grown.

Nearby is the well preserved medieval tea-trading town of Xiamei and further afield are Fujian's famed tulou -- ancient rammed earth roundhouses that hold up to 400 families inside.

Wuyi Shan has its own airport with daily flights to and from major Chinese cities.

China Base Travel runs three-day Wuyi Mountain and oolong tea tours year round.

Wuyi Shan UNESCO World Heritage Site; daily from 7:30 a.m.; admission RMB 235 ($38) for a two-day pass

MORE: Sri Lanka's top tea experiences: Sips of history

Pu'er is considered the pinnacle of Chinese teas.

Southern Yunnan's pu'er tea

Pu'er, a fermented and aged black tea with a complex, earthy taste, is considered the pinnacle of all Chinese teas.

Usually pressed into cakes, it's allowed to age so that its complexity and depth of flavor increase over time (as does the price), again drawing comparisons to wine.

Pu'er has a fascinating trade history.

Tea was carried, often on foot, overland on the ancient Tea Horse Road linking Yunnan and Tibet in exchange for the Tibetan mountain ponies sought by the Chinese for their hardiness.

The area of southern Yunnan where pu'er is produced lies adjacent to Myanmar, Laos and the Mekong River.

The region features an enormous protected native jungle and wild elephant reserve, a tropical and medicinal botanic garden, hills terraced with tea plantations and areas filled with wild tea trees that are hundreds of years old.

There are daily flights to the regional capital, Jinghong, from all major Chinese cities, or you can fly directly into the smaller Pu'er airport (known as Pu'er Simao).

Pu'er tea tours can be arranged through Jinghong's Mekong Café.

Sanchahe Nature Reserve and Banna Wild Elephant Valley is 48 kilometers north of Jinghong; daily, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Menglun Botanical Garden in Menglun is located 70 kilometers east of Jinghong; daily, 7 a.m.-midnight

MORE: Best London tea experiences

Aaron Hernandez taken to hospital

• Aaron Hernandez spent less than a half hour at a hospital in Massachusetts


• Federal privacy law doesn't allow hospital to disclose why Hernandez was there


• Hernandez is in jail awaiting his first-degree murder charge


• He's accused in the shooting deaths of three men in 2012 and 2013

Susan Candiotti's documentary, "Downward Spiral: Inside the Case Against Aaron Hernandez," airs on CNN at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday.

(CNN) -- Former New England Patriot player Aaron Hernandez was transported from his Massachusetts jail cell to a nearby hospital this weekend, according to Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson.

Hernandez spent less than a half hour Saturday afternoon at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford, Hodgson told CNN.

Inside the case against Aaron Hernandez

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is led into the courtroom to be arraigned on homicide charges on Wednesday, May 28, in Boston. Hernandez pleaded not guilty in the 2012 killings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. He has also been charged in the 2013 death of semipro football player Odin Lloyd.

At a press conference on May 15, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley announces that Hernandez has been indicted for the July 2012 killings of de Abreu and Furtado and charged with three counts of armed assault with attempt to murder. Prosecutors allege Hernandez killed de Abreu and Furtado after de Abreu bumped into Hernandez at a nightclub, causing him to spill his drink.

Hernandez is brought into the Attleboro, Massachusetts, District Court for his arraignment on June 26, 2013. He was charged with first-degree murder in Lloyd's death. Hernandez was release by the Patriots less than two hours after his arrest.

Hernandez answers questions during Media Day on January 31, 2012, before Super Bowl XLVI against the New York Giants in Indianapolis.

Hernandez carries the ball as the Patriots play the Cincinnati Bengals in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on September 10, 2010.

Hernandez looks up after being tackled during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 27, 2011, in Philadelphia.

Tattoos on Hernandez's arm are visible during the pregame warmup on December 4, 2011.

Hernandez scores a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills on January 1, 2012, in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Hernandez catches a pass against Chase Blackburn and Aaron Ross of the New York Giants during Super Bowl XLVI on February 5, 2012, in Indianapolis.

Hernandez runs for a 12-yard touchdown past Deon Grant of the New York Giants in the third quarter of Super Bowl XLVI on February 5, 2012, in Indianapolis.

Hernandez celebrates his touchdown in the third quarter of Super Bowl XLVI.

Hernandez, center, reacts during the SEC Championship game between the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide on December 6, 2008. The Gators went on to win the national title.

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

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Photos: Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

Hodgson was unable to disclose why Hernandez was admitted to the hospital because of federal health privacy law, except to say that it was not caused by a fight, security issue or any other problem at the jail.

Hernandez has since returned to Bristol County House of Correction, where he awaits a trial on first-degree murder charges in the June 2013 death of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd.

Prosecutors allege Hernandez orchestrated the killing of Lloyd, whose body was found in a remote spot at an industrial park about a mile from the former Patriots player's home.

He's also charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the July 2012 deaths of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado.

The two were shot to death in what prosecutors described as an ambush as they drove on a Boston street following a "chance encounter" with Hernandez at a lounge.

Hernandez may have been the shooter in that incident, according to court documents.

He has pleaded not guilty in all three killings.

Hernandez played tight end for the New England Patriots for three seasons after leaving Florida for the 2010 NFL draft. The Patriots dropped Hernandez the day he was arrested in Lloyd's death.

A year after Odin Lloyd's death, loved ones cling to memories

Source: Hernandez's anger over two trivial incidents linked to killing

CNN's Leigh Remizowski contributed to this report.