NationStates Jolt Archive

Forget the big museums. Forget your standard standard art, history, science, and natural history museums. What is your favorite little odd museum? The more local and unusual the better.

The Momofuku Ando
Instant Ramen Museum (http://www.irma-world.com/public/cont024.htm), a small museum concerning the inventor of instant ramen and cup ramen, is one of my faves.

Liberty Osaka (http://www.liberty.or.jp/), a human rights museum, mostly dealing with minorities in Japan (shock horror, the common view of Japan as a totally homogenious society is wrong????) is another. (Sorry, the site's all in Japanese.)

So what are your favorites? Post urls if possible!

This one. clicky (http://www.collphyphil.org/muttpg1.shtml)

Where else can you go to see a collection of skulls from every human population on earth, the remains of an obese woman that have turned into adipocere, a collection of objects removed from human bodies, and plenty of deformed freaks (or at least reproductions of them or their remains)

http://www.collphyphil.org/virt_tour/museum_8.htm

International Spy Museum

Pretty weird (http://www.lawnmowerworld.co.uk/)
They have a DVD out! I want to know who'd actually buy that stuff.

International Spy Museum


Ya know, for an odd reason that reminds me of one of my old childhood favorites: the Fort Bliss Air Defense Artillery Museum. My grandfather (a WWII era ADA captain) finished up his army career there in the late 40s, and my Nana used to take me every time I went out to visit. Since he passed on before I was born, visiting the museum was very special as it always made me feel somehow connected to him. I particularly remember the collection of "oozelfinches". (and a cookie to anyone who knows what an oozelfinch is and why they had a collection of them)

Me, I was partial to the Medieval Criminal Museum in (pardon me if I'm wrong, it was so very long ago) San Gimignano, Italy. The sickest, most sadistic museum you'll ever have the horrific pleasure of parading yourself through.

And for the truly demented, such as myself......the souvenir book contains pictures and/or detailed explainations of every exhibit.

Ya know, for an odd reason that reminds me of one of my old childhood favorites: the Fort Bliss Air Defense Artillery Museum. My grandfather (a WWII era ADA captain) finished up his army career there in the late 40s, and my Nana used to take me every time I went out to visit. Since he passed on before I was born, visiting the museum was very special as it always made me feel somehow connected to him. I particularly remember the collection of "oozelfinches". (and a cookie to anyone who knows what an oozelfinch is and why they had a collection of them)
Was some random bird with bloodshot eyes - the Missileman's mascot. Cookie please! [thank you google]

The Ripleys museums.

I went to the national canal boat museum (UK) once. It was fairly small, and wierd.

Haven't been there yet, but I understand that there is a Museum of Natural History - ID style - somewhere in the Bible Belt.

I need a Laugh. Could be the funniest thing I ever hope to see.

Icelandic Phallological Museum (http://www.phallus.is/) :p

The last Lenin museum (http://www.lenin.fi/uusi/uk/index.htm) ... in Finland of all places.

Some of my favorites.

The Cockroach Hall of Fame in Plano, TX (a 'burb of Dallas)
http://www.savvycenter.com/explorer/areas/infopages/roachmuseum.htm
Cockroaches dressed up as famous historic and contemporary people.

Museum of Questionable Medical Devices in Minneapolis, MN
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/MNMINmed.html
You can get the bumps on your head read and test a prostate warmer. Sadly he was forced out of his building. But he donated his collection to The Science Museum of Minnesota in St Paul, MN where many of the items can now be viewed.

The Bakken Museum of Electricity in Minneapolis, MN
http://www.thebakken.org/
You can play a thermen there and literally shock your friends.

The Spam Museum in Austin, MN (apx 100 miles south of Minneapolis)
http://media.hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?id=9&catitemid=16
Really, what can I say about spam.

I just love the Fan Museum (http://www.fan-museum.org/). It's so cute and quaint...

The museum in Cardiff, Wales that looks like a long tin can and has exhibits where you can smell what various points in Cardiff's history smelled like.

The Rubin Museum (http://www.rmanyc.org/) of art of the Himalayas is one of if not THE newest museum in New York. It is fantastically tastefully designed, has an excellent collection in a variety of medias, friendly staff, great shop and is on a region often overloooked by art lovers. Furthermore, it has yet to draw overwhelming crowds, and thus is a pleasant place to reflect on what you are seeing. Not wierd, but not mainstream either...

There used to be a museum of holography in NYC -- when I looked it up on Google, though, it turns out it's closed and sent its collection to MIT.

I understand there is an Antique Vibrator museum in San Francisco -- the buzz is that's got to be exciting!


;)

No trip to my "near" hometown of Baltimore would be complete without a visit to this small, but very neat museum - the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum.

http://www.eapoe.org/balt/poehse.htm

Also, though someone's posted the Spy Museum already, in the same vein, if you're in Maryland not far from where I live is the National Cryptologic Museum.

http://www.nsa.gov/museum/index.cfm

Yes boys and girls - it is run BY the NSA - the agency you've been all reading about in the news lately. Stop in if you're ever in the area.

(I hope they have the lights and plumbing back now!) :-D

The Julia C. Bulette Red Light Museum in Virginia City, Nevada (sorry, the Comstock has yet to really discover the Internet, probably too drunk).

Contains a rather facinating collection about prostiution on the Comstock during the silver strikes in Virginia City, also contains a lot of medical stuff used during the same area (Back all abortions anyone?). The best bit is all the dummies set up to show off what this might have looked like.

Oh, and the museum is housed in the basement of a Chinese eatery (once a hotel where the famed Julia C. Bulette plied her trade) and is supposedly haunted. All this for $2.

Was some random bird with bloodshot eyes - the Missileman's mascot. Cookie please! [thank you google]

Here, have one of my famous no-bake oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate, and coconut cookies.

It had bloodshot eyes because it had no eyelids - it was always vigilant. And it flew backwards - either to keep from getting grit in it's eyes or because it was always looking back to where it came from, depending on who you ask.