Top 10 Bizarre Museums
Published on February 5, 2008 - 132 Comments
[WARNING: This list contains content that may offend some readers] Museums are meant to have wide appeal as institutions of learning, but sometimes things go awry - as is the case in the following ten bizarre museums. Take a journey to the dark side of museum life with our top 10 bizarre museums!
10. Museum of Jurassic Technology
The museum claims to have a “specialized repository of relics and artifacts from the Lower Jurassic, with an emphasis on those that demonstrate unusual or curious technological qualities.” This explains the museum’s name and also suggests its puzzling nature, since the Lower Jurassic ended over 150 million years before the appearance of hominoids and in particular before anything that could be called technology. Some of the exhibits found in the museum are a collection of decomposing antique dice owned by magician Ricky Jay, a collection devoted to trailer park culture, entitled “Garden of Eden On Wheels”, an exhibit on household myths of years past, and a collection of micro-miniature sculptures and paintings, such as a sculpture of Pope John Paul II carved from a single human hair and placed within the eye of a needle.
Address: 9341 Venice Boulevard, Culver City, California 90232
9. British Lawnmower Museum
This museum includes over 400 vintage and experimental lawnmowers, highlighting the best of British technological ingenuity. Of particular interest are the 1921 ATCO Standard 9 Blade, a solar powered robot mower, and unusually fast or expensive mowers. Included in this Unique National collection are manufacturers not normally associated with the garden industry, names such as Rolls Royce, Royal Enfield, Daimler, Hawker Sidley, Perkins Diesel, British Leyland, Fraser Nash and many more. Most of the exhibit’s technical and industrial artifacts are from the Victorian and Edwardian era and the restored exhibits are devoted to keeping a small part of British engineering Heritage alive.
Address: 106-114 Shakespeare St., Southport, Lancashire, PR8 5AJ
8. Kansas Barbed Wire Museum
The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum in LaCrosse, Kansas is devoted solely to the history and legend of the early part of American history often referred to as the “Devils Rope”. On exhibit are over 2000 barbed wire varieties; including samples manufactured between the years 1870 and 1890. Hundreds of antique fencing tools illustrate the inventiveness of pioneers. The museum presents interesting ways to learn about one of the Midwest’s most important contributions to America’s history. Dioramas of early barbed wire use, a theatre featuring educational films, the Barbed Wire Hall of Fame, the museum archives room, and a research library all help to conjure up images of settling the Midwest.
Address: 120 W. 1st Street, LaCrosse, KS, 67548
7. Glore Psychiatric Museum
The Glore Psychiatric Museum brings to life the glorious history of psychiatric treatment through dioramas, models, and reproductions. The earliest form of therapy seems to have been administered with a sharp stick or club. By the Middle Ages treatment encompassed public humiliation, dunking, blistering, the ever-popular bleeding, and burning at the stake. Fortunately, by the 20th century, psychiatric treatment had evolved to include icy baths, tranquilizers, vibrating chairs, and electroshock therapy. Some of the more interesting objects on display include the tranquilizer chair, a things-swallowed-by-patients exhibit, and a giant hamster wheel for especially energetic patients.
Address: 3408 Frederick Ave., St. Joseph, MO (Be mindful not to drive into the entrance for the prison next door — they’re a little jumpy.)
6. The Creation Museum
The Creation Museum is a 60,000 square foot museum in the United States designed to promote young Earth creationism. The museum presents an account of the origins of the universe, life, mankind, and man’s early history according to a literal reading of the book of Genesis. Its exhibits reject evolution and assert that the earth and all of its life forms were created in 6 days just 6000 years ago and that man and dinosaurs once coexisted. The National Center for Science Education said:
“We, the undersigned scientists at universities and colleges in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana, are concerned about scientifically inaccurate materials at the Answers in Genesis museum. Students who accept this material as scientifically valid are unlikely to succeed in science courses at the college level. These students will need remedial instruction in the nature of science, as well as in the specific areas of science misrepresented by Answers in Genesis.”
The Guardian called the facility “quite possibly … one of the weirdest museums in the world.”
Address: 2800 Bullittsburg Church Rd. Petersburg, KY 41080
5. Museum of Eroticism
The Museum of Eroticism is a museum devoted to the erotic art collections of antique dealer Alain Plumey and French teacher Jo Khalifa. Founded in 1997 at 72 Boulevard de Clichy, the museum is situated in the Pigalle district of Paris, France. The collection ranges from the ancient religious art of India, Japan and Africa right up to contemporary art with an erotic focus. There are five floors, including a basement exhibition. One floor is devoted to maisons closes, the legal brothels of the 19th and early twentieth century.
Address: 72 Bd de Clichy, 75018 Paris, France
4. Icelandic Phallological Museum
The Icelandic Phallological Museum contains a collection of over one hundred penises and penile parts belonging to almost all the land and sea mammals that can be found in Iceland. Visitors to the museum will encounter thirty specimens belonging to twelve different kinds of whale, one specimen taken from a rogue polar bear, eighteen specimens belonging to seven different kinds of seal and walrus, and fifty one specimens originating from sixteen different kinds of land mammal: all in all, a total of one hundred specimens belonging to thirty six different kinds of mammal. The museum has also been fortunate enough to receive a legally-certified gift token for a future specimen belonging to a human.
Address: Hedinsbraut 3a, 640 Husavik, Iceland
3. Sulabh Museum of Toilets
At the Sulabh museum of toilets, you can see the evolution of the “loo” as well as catch up on the latest toilet jokes from around the world! Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the Founder of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, a pioneering non-profit voluntary organisation (NGO) in the field of Sanitation in India, envisioned the need for the setting up of a museum of toilets in the sprawling campus of his central office, and has consultative status with Economic and Social Council of the UN!
Address: Mahavir Enclave, Palam Dabri Road, New Delhi, India
2. Mütter Museum Medical Museum
The museum is best known for its large collection of skulls and anatomical specimens including a wax model of a woman with a human horn growing out of her forehead, the tallest skeleton on display in North America, a 5′-long human colon that contained over 40 pounds of fecal matter, and the petrified body of the mysterious Soap Lady (image above), whose corpse was turned into a soapy substance called adipocere. The museum also houses a malignant tumor removed from President Grover Cleveland’s hard palate, the conjoined liver from Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker, and a growth removed from President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth. This is a must see place for a cold wintery day.
Address: 19 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19103.
1. Antique Vibrator Museum
In days long gone, doctors used vibrating devices in the treatment of “hysteria,” which they viewed as the most common health complaint among women of the day. Hysteria was a medical term developed to describe a woman’s display of mental or emotional distress, behavior then considered a disease in need of treatment. Good Vibrations’ founder, Joani Blank, collected antique vibrators for over 20 years. In this curious museum you get to see her entire collection, as well as more modern takes on the vibrator. Pictured above is a 1902 “Type A”, Hamilton Beach vibrator.
Address: 603 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
This article is licensed under the GFDL because it contains quotations from the Wikipedia articles: Mutter Museum, Museum of Eroticism, The Creation Museum, and The Museum of Jurassic Technology.
Related ListsTop 10 Bizarre Piercing Images10 More Bizarre Videos Top 10 Bizarre Mustaches Videocast: Top 10 Unsolved Mysteries |
SubscriptionsLike this article? Subscribe to the RSS feed to keep 'em coming, or subscribe via email: |
If you find this site helpful, please leave a donation so you can enjoy the spirit of giving too.
Email This Post
1. dangorironhide - February 5th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Great list! Some of those look like they’d be pretty cool to go around actually. Thanks for providing the addresses as well, I might go check some of them out if I’m ever travelling around the states. The Glore Psychiatric Museum looks especially interesting
2. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 5:33 am
dangor: I am quite interesting in medical/psychiatric history too - I would probably enjoy those two museums.
3. Joshua - February 5th, 2008 at 5:44 am
Shoudn’t #2 say medical instead of medial?
Also, another great list! Thanks a lot.
4. Magnolia - February 5th, 2008 at 6:09 am
There’s a museum of sex somewhere near me (NYC? Boston?). One of my friends has a card from there that says “Do not touch, lick, or mount the exhibits.”
But that’s ordinary compared to some of this stuff.
5. stevenh - February 5th, 2008 at 6:17 am
Shouldn’t the address of #6 be 2800 Bullshitsburg Church Rd.?
Sorry, couldn’t resist….
Great list
6. Rob - February 5th, 2008 at 6:48 am
THere’s a great sex museum in Amsterdam. All sorts of chastity belts, dildoes etc. are on display. Very disconcerting how badly it was desired to keep the ladies “chaste”.
7. satori - February 5th, 2008 at 6:59 am
OMG I almost cried laughing at “one specimen taken from a rogue polar bear” in #4…damned rogue polar bears!
8. chris - February 5th, 2008 at 7:15 am
There is a pretty interesting torture museum in San Gimignano, Italy.
I used to work a few blocks from the Mütter Museum. I didn’t even know that was there. Too bad I’ve since moved away from Philly.
9. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 7:19 am
chris: that is a shame - it is definitely one of the more interesting ones on the list!
10. Jackie - February 5th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Magnolia: You might be talking about the one in New York City. My friends and I just went inside to the lobby area and looked around the gift shop but couldn’t go into the museum because it was too expensive for us at the time. It was like 15 or 20 per person and we had already spent a lot on the trip itself haha.
I remember reading about that Creation Museum when it first came out and it is totally ridiculous. I think they have a part that explains how Noah’s Ark and the great flood is what created all of the canyons that we have.
11. chris - February 5th, 2008 at 7:38 am
jfrater, I do go back from time to time. Next time I’m in the area, I should remember to stop in.
12. DiscHuker - February 5th, 2008 at 7:43 am
wow, that “vibrator” looks like a water pump. yikes, keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle as this may be a bumpy ride.
13. Mystern - February 5th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Of course the best sex museum in the world is in Copenhagen, DK. Supposedly dedicated to over 500 years of sexual . . . well everything.
14. Q - February 5th, 2008 at 8:25 am
The Mutter Museum is awesome - not only for the exhibits but for the people who go there. The visitors are a strange mix of people in the medical profession and people who like a good freak show. Check out the “bucket-o-kidney stones” and the cast of the Elephant Man.
15. dangorironhide - February 5th, 2008 at 8:40 am
I just bought a black listverse t-shirt. I rock.
16. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Well done dangor! Make sure you let me know what the quality is like!
17. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 8:45 am
Maybe we can do a wall of fame with our listversers pictures in listverse merchandise
18. dangorironhide - February 5th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Aparently it wont arrive for a few weeks, so I’m sure anyone in the states who orders one will get it quicker!
19. Mystern - February 5th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Hey Jamie, the merchandise costs an awful lot. I don’t mind paying it if a large percentage goes to the site/you but I’m not really sure where this money is going. Do you get a low, mid, or high % of the sale?
20. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Mystern: each item is different - the low priced ones make around $1 and the high priced ones make about $6 (for the site) - the base price is very high but cafepress seemed to have the best selection of goods so i have gone with them. If something better comes up I might consider a second store or moving to them entirely.
dangor: that seems a bit long for international shipping from the US - I wouldn’t be surprised if it arrives sooner.
21. dangorironhide - February 5th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Mystern: Thank god (after the debate on the bible stories list I’d like to point out that’s just an expression
) for the great pound/dollar rate at the moment! haha 
22. Kai4a - February 5th, 2008 at 8:58 am
I’ve only been to the Mütter once, even though I live in the Philly ‘burbs. It’s fantastic. If you’re ever in Philly, definitely check it out. Another one of note: Eastern State Penitentiary. I still haven’t been, even though a friend used to be a tour guide there, but it’s fascinating. Philly: We’re more than just cheesesteaks and belligerent sports fans!
23. Mom424 - February 5th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Great List; For all of you purveyors of the weird, may I suggest the following link;
http://www.kirchersociety.org/blog/
24. Mystern - February 5th, 2008 at 9:02 am
dangor: Yeah. Thank god for you. I’ve got to pay like 30 bucks for a hoodie. The dollar might not be worth much worldwide, but here in the US I still have to deal with the way things are. I feel like I’m living in an Eastern Bloc country.
25. Amber - February 5th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I plan on visiting the Mutter Museum this summer!
26. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 9:20 am
Mystern: at least you are getting a truly unique and awesome item for your money
27. Joss - February 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am
I love this list! I want to go to the toilet museum…
28. mrbizmark - February 5th, 2008 at 9:27 am
An addition…
The Mummy Museum in Guanajato, Mexico, is basically just a bunch of preserved cadavers in glass boxes, their faces decomposing. Its pretty gross, but also cool. They also have a mummy of a fetus.
http://www.mummytombs.com/mumm.....ajuato.htm
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_.....mummy.html
From wikipedia
“In the Panteón catacombs to the west of the city is a famous cemetery noted for the natural mummies produced by unknown means. About 1 in 100 bodies buried here experience natural mummification. In the late 1800s the town instituted a “burial tax” for the families of the deceased. When some of the poorest families were unable to pay the tax, their relatives were dug up and placed on public view in a purpose-built museum. The ‘Guanajuato Mummy Museum’ still adds corpses to this day; two children were added who died in 1984 most recently due to their relatives’ failure to pay the $ 20 per 5 year rental fee. The museum holds 111 corpses resting on velvet pillows. Today, it is reported that the proceeds from the museum help fund the city’s coffers to a considerable degree.”
29. Mystern - February 5th, 2008 at 9:29 am
JF: Yeah . . . I guess so . . . I totally need to pick up one of those maternity shirts for my wife. We’re planning on another baby this year. And I think I need a large coffee mug for myself. Or maybe even the stein for coffee . . . I love my coffee.
Has anyone else noticed the dramatic drop in comments the past couple days?
30. Mom424 - February 5th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Mystern; yes I noticed, and was disappointed. I look forward to spirited debate. I don’t want to have to join a bunch of geeks at the toastmasters club to do so.
31. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 9:37 am
There was a drop in comments over the weekend - weekends are always a bit stink for comments though. As for site hits - they were up yesterday.
32. jesse - February 5th, 2008 at 9:42 am
theres some cool torture museums out there too, cool stuff, by the way new layout is quite nice, i did like the more simple version of the logo you chose tho, with just the one row of dots,
either way, good.
33. Mom424 - February 5th, 2008 at 9:48 am
jfrater; I don’t think I better visit the Creation museum..I’m pretty sure I would be thrown out for laughing at or arguing with the curator. It would be too hard to be polite. Looks like an old Raquel Welch movie….
34. downhighway61 - February 5th, 2008 at 9:49 am
a bunch of the items are made using American Apparel products, which gets me all happy
and it could be worse, $30 for a hoodie is pretty reasonable.
anyhoo… i really want to see the glore museum and and mutter museum. in las vegas we have the elvis museum and the liberace lmuseum. and the boneyard, which has a lot of the old neon lights. oh, and the gambling museum!
35. copperdragon - February 5th, 2008 at 9:50 am
now we know how jamie spent his winter holidays…
36. Mystern - February 5th, 2008 at 9:53 am
thats right! Jamie’s not allowed to ever go on vacation again and visit interesting museums that most of us will never see. Bad Jamie. Bad.
37. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 9:57 am
downhighway61: I was considering adding the liberace museum
copperdragon: i didn’t go near a single museum on my holiday! I swear! I did go to the British Museum on Sunday though.
Mystern: you better watch it or the wrath of jfrater will be upon you!
38. Mystern - February 5th, 2008 at 10:00 am
AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
I’M REPENTING! I’M REPENTING! PLEASE FORGIVE ME OH MOST HIGH LISTVERSE GOD, jfrater!
39. AnotherEngine - February 5th, 2008 at 10:00 am
The Mutter Museum is great. I’ve been there once but have been meaning to go back. Though disturbing & unfortunate I found a certain exhibit piece interesting. It was a fetus in this large jar, (jar probably isn’t even the word) but it died due to the umbilical cord being wrapped around it nearly 2 dozen times (I may be off on the number a bit, it was a few years back.)And there are lot of other oddities, baseball like cards of two headed boys and lots of bones and things.
40. Bob - February 5th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Won’t be ready for college-level science courses? Why not? The “creation scientists” depend as much on speculation and BS (not the degree, of course) as evolutionists do. A student raised on the former is already schooled in the same nonsensical way of thinking about science and origins as is used in the latter.
41. Mom424 - February 5th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Bob; c’mon, Creation Scientists,,,and I thought Fundementalist Agnostic as the oxymoron of the week
42. Grant - February 5th, 2008 at 11:21 am
All great but how could you leave off the Pez Museum?
If you are traveling to the San Francisco Bay Area, we invite you
to visit the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia in person.
We are located just ten minutes south from the
San Francisco International Airport. Our address is:
214 California Drive, Burlingame, CA, 94010, USA.
Our hours are Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 6 pm.
We are closed Sunday, Monday and Major Holidays.
Our phone number is (650) 347-2301.
43. Miss Destiny - February 5th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Hmm, the touring schedule of my dream trip to Paris is filling out nicely.
1. Eiffel Tower
2. L’Arc de Triomphe
3. The Louvre
4. Museum of Eroticism. . .
Great list!
44. GP - February 5th, 2008 at 11:25 am
There’s a sex museum in Amsterdam, with a wide variety of everything sex from history to modern day…
There’s also a torture museum in Amsterdam. Interesting stuff, though nothing compares to the actual musea of the city. The rest are just tourist traps
45. Mathilda - February 5th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I like number one best! And here I was just thinking that I was stressed from overwork - I didn’t know that I had a medical condition that required “treatment”. I’m sure that use of the, um, medical equipment would probably really help to calm women down.
46. Mikkle - February 5th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Mathilda: sounds like you want to visit that museum
47. SlickWilly - February 5th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Bob:
For the most part you are right. However, the speculation and “BS” on the side of science errs in the way of testable evidence and educated speculation, as opposed to faith and the scientification of non-scientific ideas. The professors that wrote the statement that you reference are right. If you believe the creation “scientists” and accept their view as scientific fact, you will be unprepared and unless you come around quick, unsuccessful in a college level science course where evolution is the accepted view. Remember…it may be “BS” to you, but it is the “BS” those professors subscribe to and teach from. If you arn’t fluent in their form of “BS” you probably won’t do well in their courses.
48. JT - February 5th, 2008 at 11:52 am
What exactly is nonsensical about evolution? It’s one of the most beautifully constructed facets of our life.
49. SlickWilly - February 5th, 2008 at 11:53 am
As for me, I’m with Mom424. I just couldn’t bring myself to even consider patronizing such a place, as I would probably laugh loudly and maniacly and disturb the fundamentalists grazing in the nearby wings. Then they would probably think I was possessed by the devil and take me to see a psychic surgeon. Or a witch doctor. Or a catholic priest.
On second thought, I’d rather see the witch doctor.
50. Mathilda - February 5th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Mikkle - There’s got to be grant money out there somewhere for an investigation into efficiacy of cures for “hysteria” in women. Finally I could be one of those people who actually enjoy going to work in the morning! :p
51. meridith - February 5th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Long time reader, first time poster.
I just wanted to say that the Museum of Jurrasic Technology is delightfully weird. You won’t even notice it unless you’re looking for it and I’m sure 99% of Los Angelenos have no idea it exists. There is also a pretty good little book about it called Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet Of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redir.....ative=9325
52. Mom424 - February 5th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
SlickWilly; Witch Doctors are all the vogue right now. Ever heard of holistic medicine?
53. Mom424 - February 5th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Mathilda; its hard to go into “hysterics” when yer all flushed and moaning…..
54. Joss - February 5th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Holistic medicine pwns.
55. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
meridith: thanks for that - it is nice to hear a first hand account! Welcome to the site!
56. KATIELOPEZ - February 5th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Loving the vibrator museum……..I’d love to #*(@#*235234
57. SlickWilly - February 5th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
KatieLopez: Hahaha….I’m sure you would. Just get a tetanus shot before you go. I’m not sure what diseases you could conceivably contract from using a 100 year old vibrator, but I’m sure lockjaw would be high on the list.
Mom424: Aw crap, witchdoctors are back in, this season? Jeez, it seems like just yesterday I traded in my chicken heads and frog sweat for a rosary and some crackers and grape juice.
58. Schiesl - February 5th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
i live in cincinati and have been to the creation museum multiple times. it is truly bizarre and very annoying. I go there more to laugh at it. most of its exibits are weird paintings or things just like what the picture shows. Its quite odd
59. Idreno - February 5th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Great list. I have been to the Mütter Museum, which, although it is small, is a really interesting and cool place to spend an afternoon.
I had read somewhere that the Phallologcial Museum does have a human specimen - namely the penis of Rasputin. Can anyone confirm or dispute this?
I find #6 to be rather interesting. I personally have never believed that either the creation theory nor the theory (not laws, mind you) of evolution are able to completely explain the creation of the world. There are many loopholes in the theory of evolution and there are many pieces of evidence to disprove many of it’s notions. There is much work being done today to disprove much of the ‘dating’ of fossils, claiming that things should not be measured in millions of years and that prehistory is actually much more recent than we’ve been taught. There is also a huge amount of recently discovered evidence amongst many of the ancient cultures in South America which have brought to light that humans probably have coexisted with some species of dinosaurs. It’s just good to have an open mind about it.
60. Schiesl - February 5th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
to read about what is actually in the creation museum go to http://www.creationmuseum.org/about yeah i know…its kind of messed up
61. SlickWilly - February 5th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Idreno:
1. I challenge you to produce even one of these “many pieces of evidence that disprove many of [evolution’s] notions.”
2. Most of the work being done on the supposed “inefficacy” of carbon-14 dating is being funded by the Discovery Institute and its off-shoot subsidiaries. (i.e. the creationists, looking for evidence in favor of their looney ideas.)
3. Please post the link or the journal number of the article where you read about this “huge amount of recently discovered evidence” that suggests that human beings (the oldest recorded “homo” fossil being only a little over 10,000 years old) coexisted with dinosaurs (the most recent specimin of which is determined to have been a little more than 64 million years old).
It’s good to have an open mind about things, but not so open that you let your brain fall right out of your head.
62. amoondoo - February 5th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
ahhh! i love this new layout/icon!
great list! keep up the awesome site!
63. Randall - February 5th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Idreno:
Open minds are good. Weak, flabby minds are unattractive and silly, and women tend not to sleep with them.
There is not one valid piece of evidence that disproves or even challenges evolution. Sorry, “Id,” but it’s a fact.
Neither are there any valid challenges to ANY of the traditional, well-tested means of dating fossils. As SlickWilly points out, what work has been done has been funded by creationists and is dangerously and stupidly biased. Science is not supposed to be dangerously and stupidly biases, it is supposed to be objective. Those that claim objectivity while laboring under various biases are not objective, they are idiots, cads, and examples of aforementioned weak minds (who probably aren’t gettin’ any).
Anthropoid, let alone Homo Sapien co-existence with dinosaurs is nonsense and is proven nonsense. Really, skepticism is healthy, but *moronic* skepticism ain’t cool.
64. Mystern - February 5th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Randall: I disagree with one aspect of your statement. You said
I know for a fact that a fanatic is most sexually turned on by fanaticism, thus all one has to do is find a like mind.
65. Mom424 - February 5th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Idreno; the south american dinosaur thing was not dinosaurs, but large birds and mammals, kinda like the Moa in Australia. The age of mammals I do believe. C’mon check da facts.
66. SlickWilly - February 5th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
edit to above post: “the oldest recorded “homo” fossil being only a little over 10,000 years old” should read either:
“the oldest recorded ‘homo sapien’”
OR
“a little over 100,000 years old”
(I believe I meant the first one, but if you replace the second one, it’s also true.) Either way, my point remains the same.
JFRATER!!!!!: How come we arn’t allowed to edit posts, anymore? I seem to recall that we used to have a half hour to revise our posts before they were written in stone.
67. Another Kiwi - February 5th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Mom424: The moa is (or was) a native of New Zealand. Those damn Aussies try to steal anything of ours that is/was halfway decent.
68. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
SlickWilly: I removed that functionality quite a while ago (a month or two before Christmas) in order to speed up the site. If I find a better alternative I will consider adding that in later
69. jfrater - February 5th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
I second Another Kiwi - the Moa was an indigenous bird in New Zealand which was wiped out by the Maoris who used its flesh for food and its feathers for garments. It has never existed outside of NZ
70. Mom424 - February 5th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
jfrater;another kiwi; i apologize for giving credit where it was not due, you guys wiped out the moas…
71. Mom424 - February 5th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
and jamie I was nice to you about the garter snake fiasco….
72. Schiesl - February 5th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
though i am completely for the evolution theory. there is some, not PROOF, but intresting facts that dont seem to work with evolution. http://ourworld.compuserve.com.....m/evol.htm
73. SlickWilly - February 5th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Schiesl: I would just like to point out where the site you found stems from. Just some food for thought. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/malcolmbowden/
74. cfroese - February 5th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I must say, the list was great, but #9 and #8 seemed rather banal…I think they could have been replaced with something else. (someone mentioned the Pez museum, that would be great!)Everything else on the list was really interesting. If I ever go to the United States I may have to look up some of these.
75. Kelsi - February 5th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Hehe, last year in AP euro we watched a movie called “Inhaling the Spore” which was about the Museum of Jurassic Technology. They had some really interesting/creepy stuff. I would love to visit one of these someday!
76. SubliminalDeath666 - February 5th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
AWEsome list!! Really creative!
77. frozenmidwest - February 5th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
two I know of (both in Minneapolis) are the Bakken Museum of Electricity in Life, and the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices. I’ve heard of the Jurassic Tech museum, but haven’t ever been there.
78. Incipiat - February 5th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
With regards to the facile responses to #6 and the assertion that evolution must be disproved or else accepted, I believe those responses blatantly ridiculous.
So I suggest the following:
1. There is not one case where an animal suddenly birthed a completely new animal (e.g. Dogs don’t give birth to cats). If someone has evidence of such please list all reference sources.
Remember I am not talking about variations in a group I am talking about something entirely new.
2. In the scientific ambit the person posing a theory must prove it is true, and to assert that someone must disprove what is stated in a theory flies against the who point of the scientific method.
Again if someone can show where a theory is to be accepted as law before it is proven please list sources.
3. Explain the “evolution” of the eye. Show proof of development. Wait you can’t, which is why we know have the punctuated equilibrium theory of evolution where the non-existence of proof is proof.
Woo hoo, I’m ready to buy the bridge now Mr Demille.
4. Evolution, no matter what anti-creationist might like to think, is merely an act of faith not science.
Now since I have just posited that evolution is an act of faith and not science you, the anti-creationist, must prove scientifically that belief in evolution is not an act of faith.
Of course, like the evolutionist, I reserve the right to judge the soundness of your “conclusions” and determine whether your are right or wrong.
79. heatherrr. - February 5th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
great list! i love museums!
i’ve read about some sort of a birth defect museum, somewhere in kazakhstan, but i haven’t been able to find much information/pictures. help??
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/.....index.html
80. Diogenes - February 5th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
The (now defunct) Dime Museum in Baltimore was one of a kind. I had a chance to see the collection of oddities during its last year opened and am saddened by its loss.
Speaking of Baltimore- John Waters’ living room is one bizarre museum. I havent been in his actual living room but an exact-lifesize cardboard re-creation of it! No kidding.
The Mutter Museum is as it has always been, except for a pre-exhibit maze you must go through to get to the central gallery.
The large wooden chest of tiny drawes filled with objects people have swallowed is of particuliar interest, along with the beautiful wax heads and body parts, and not to forget the original plast death-cast of eng and chang bunker.
Others have mention torture museums. I’ll add the Kriminal Museum in Rothenburg. When I was there, they suposably had the only original iron maiden still intact in the world. I dont know, that might have just been a tourist draw. What I found so interesting was , Rothenburg is a walled in village and the buildings havent changed much. A number of their old documents showed various humiliation devises (along with the actual devises depicted) on the locals of the time, and you could find where the unfortunates were placed in and around the main square.
81. Diogenes - February 5th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Heatherrrr:
A quick search and I find some info regarding the Anatomy Department of the Semey Medical Faculty.
so type that in and look around.
Horrifying- A nuclear testing zone and once Dostoevsky place of exile.
82. Mom424 - February 5th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Incipiat;
Evolution does not state that one animal gave birth to a brand new species; it happened gradually over time. Some changes, due to catastrophic events. ie; climate change, meteoric cataclysm etc. happened quicker than others, but none over night
2; See 3
The eye thing….
Scientists today believe that the eye could evolve from a single light-sensing cell. Scientists disagree over whether it evolved just once, or many times.
It turns out that Nature is both creative and generous with her gifts. Recent research has shown that the tiny marine worm Platynereis dumerilii has two types of light-sensing cells. The eyes of the worm have rhabdomeric photoreceptors, a compound lens formation that is seen almost exclusively in insect eyes. Rhabdomeric photoreceptors are covered in little finger-like protrusions. In its brain, however, it has a different kind of light-sensing cells - ciliary cells that are seen in vertebrate animals. Ciliary cells have hair-like cilia that extend outward and branch out like tiny umbrellas. Two different ways of sensing light in a single organism!
Researcher Joachim Wittbrodt of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany speculates that the ciliary cells may regulate the worm’s daily activity cycle, saying “We think they are related to circadian rhythms. We have found that there is a direct connection to the area used for locomotion… In the beginning we had a toolbox… what was in the brain in the worm ends up in our eye.” If the animal had two copies of the genes needed to make one kind of photoreceptor, speculates Wittbrodt, then the extra set would have been free to evolve into the other photoreceptor. Different animals would subsequently evolve to use the two options in different ways.
This is a quote from Livescience.com
http://www.livescience.com/tec.....41104.html
faith is not science…i have both
83. Schiesl - February 5th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
ah i wish i would have known that. My friend sent it too me when i told asked him about what he thought of evolution…so ill talk to him about it, lol
84. StarDust - February 5th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
It’s a good thing that you don’t offer a prize to the 100th comment from this list
85. souxieq - February 5th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
I live just down the road from the Kinsey Institute. You guys ever heard of it, or are familiar with Dr. Kinsey? Pretty cool. You can’t just walk in, it’s verrrrry guarded, but sometimes they have exhibits for the general public. Awsome stuff. By the way, that’s in Bloomington, Indiana.
86. Maggot - February 5th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Creation Museum - what a joke. Does not at all advance their cause, but rather, points out the utter ridiculousness of it.
87. riledupone - February 5th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
In Toronto we have the Bata Shoe museum. There was a controversy a few years back when a pair of rare slippers worth tens of thousands of dollars were, uh, slippernapped and held for ransom. The footware was eventually recovered. It’s a must-see for shoe-fetishists!
88. ihavelegs - February 6th, 2008 at 5:08 am
ooh I love this list… my favs are defo the medical variety… Over here in the UK there are a few interesting museums…
Although it is quite/very touristy and quiet expensive I did actually enjoy ‘Madam Tausauds - The London Dungeon’ commercial but I love seeing the devices used - the one in Moscow (sorry I dont have a reference) seems more ‘hands on’.
89. SlickWilly - February 6th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Incipiat:
1. As Mom424 already pointed out, evolution does not happen by an animal of one species giving birth to an animal of another species. If you think this is how evolution works, I suggest you go catch up on the last 100 years of biological science because you are woefully misinformed.
2. You are correct about the need for evidence and support for a hypothesis to be considered a theory. However, the theory has been around for nigh over 100 years, with a vast amount of evidence in its favor. In fact, there is so much evidence FOR it and so little evidence AGAINST it that is the accepted biological explanation for speciation in 99% of the academic community. I have to add 2 things here:
a. This 99% of the academic community has studied evolution for longer than you have been alive. Do you happen to have a pHD in biological science? No? Why, then, are YOU more qualified to make assumptions about the validity than they are?
b. When a theory is being proposed, the burden of proof is one the one who proposed it. When it has been accepted, by and large, as truth by the majority of science, the burden of proof then falls on those people trying to disprove it. The burden of proof here is NOT on our shoulders, but rather on yours. In a trial, the burden of proof always, always, always lies with the prosecuter. If you want to challenge evolution, YOU have to provide evidence against it. It is not the other way around.
3. Mom424 provided some good reading material on speculation into the development of the eye. I suggest you actually do some research before you go off half-cocked, talking about things you know nothing about. This is woefully apparent by your misunderstanding of the Punctuated Equilibrium theory. And for dog’s sake, the non-existence of proof is NEVER considered proof of anything. Scientists implicitly know this. We could only hope creationists would realize it too.
4. There are certain educated speculations that need to be made in the theory of evolution, and there are certain truths that are held to be self-evident. However, the science of evolution is hardly considered a faith. The vast majority of evidence we have comes from replicable experiments. In order to postulate an experiment, something concrete in the theory must be realized to be taken advantage of and manipulated. Creationists like to level all kinds of ad-hominem attacks against evolutionists, but only because they have no REAL feet to stand on in the matter.
As an aside on this particular question: You need to posit a hyptothesis and show evidence to support it before you can invite people to refute it. All you did was make a hypothesis that evolution is a faith, and provided no supporting evidence. The burden of proof still lies with you, sir. I’ll be glad to handily refute you once you put together some kind of case.
You have every right to judge the soundness of my response. However, you are not a scientist, so your judgement in the matter has little say. You are, instead, a dangerously biased layman, and as a direct consequence, your consideration of “soundness” is skewed. I would like you to keep that in mind wen responding to this post.
90. Mom424 - February 6th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Slickwilly; what you said…..
pretty neat how a layperson like myself, who doesn’t represent themselves as a scientist, is more well-read (at least when it comes to science)than someone who is represents themselves as such. People can use as many large words and old movie references as they like, and still spew bullshit.
91. kakazed - February 6th, 2008 at 9:46 am
man this one should be number one
Museum of Menstruation which has exhibits about the world cultural history of menstruation.
www.mum.org
92. SlickWilly - February 6th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Mom424: Ummm….I’m not quite sure what your beef here is. I was taking YOUR side. I said you provided some good reading material for Mr. Incipiat and that he should perhaps do some research on his own before he tries to say that the research doesn’t exist, especially since the piece you picked out is readily available online. You may be a layman, but at least you are an intelligent layman. I consider myself a scientist, but compared to those phD’s I mentioned, I’m nothing but a layman myself, considering I’m still in graduate school. However…I have done my research, unlike Incipiat. It appeared to me as if you had done your research as well.
I’m sorry if you think I’m “spewing bullshit.” If you really feel that way, please point out to me what I said that you thought was bullshit and we can discuss it.
93. SlickWilly - February 6th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Mom424: Incidentally, how can you say that you are more well-read in science than I am? I haven’t given any indication that I am an expert, as I have pointed out at least twice that I’m not a doctor of anything, yet. In addition, other than pointing to an online article underscoring the point you were making (using a lot more big words than I was, actually
) there was nothing in your post to suggest that you are an expert either. You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. You could be a fellowship holder at a leading research institute, or you could be a cashier at McDonald’s. The same goes for me.
Like I said, I was in support of you. I was NOT in support of incipiat, most likely because I am a student of evolution science, and adamant creationists irk me a little. Combined with his bravado in challenging the science of evolution and his lack of knowledge on the subject, I was incensed. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been, but that’s just the way I am. Maybe you could explain to me why you posted the comment you did, insulting me.
94. Mom424 - February 6th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Slickwilly; I was complimenting you;,,what you said,,,means I wish I said it….i was agreeing with you….and speaking of Incipiat…not yourself…damn internet…can’t read my tone…my apologies….
95. Mom424 - February 6th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I was actually backing you up, you didn’t use the Cecil B. Demille reference (he was referring to bridge on the river Kwai, I believe)….lordy what a mess I’ve caused…
96. SlickWilly - February 6th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Mom424: Boy, am I red in the face. My apologies to you as well. We’ve gotten along so well over the past few threads….I would hate to break that now, when our online bullshitting relationship is still in its infancy.
97. Mom424 - February 6th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Slickwilly; not as much as me,,,I really don’t like to offend anyone on purpose,,,unless they post faith as science of course.
And even then I try not to attack their faith, just their shitty fake science….
98. Randall - February 6th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Mom, Slick:
See, you people get all up on my back about TONE in my postings and then YOU go and do it! Why? Cuz you just don’t LISTEN.
sheesh, I am picked on and picked on here and not an ounce of love, and I KNOW it’s not ME, it’s YOU.
(and yes,”Slick,” this is a joke).
99. SlickWilly - February 6th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Randall:
Goddamnit, Randall, I’m sick and tired of you coming in to these forums and injecting them with your knowledge and wit. I mean, if it weren’t for you and few others on this site, it might very well just be a boiling cauldron of ignorance, the kind of environment a middle-level pseudo-intellectual like myself thrives on. How about backing off for a change and letting the peons work stuff out for ourselves?
And believe it or not, I do have a sense of humor.
100. Angelina - February 6th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
SlickWilly: This isn’t the forums. Ha! Ha! Me funny!
101. BrotherMan - February 6th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Number 2 said “This is a must see place for a cold wintery day.”
That is one of the best lines that I have read on this site in a while.
102. Mom424 - February 6th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Randall, Slickwilly; smooches to all….
103. Csimmons - February 6th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
These are some badass wepons, wish i had a chariot like #1 for a car, that’d be awesome!
104. fredlester - February 6th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
There is a museum in Manitowish Waters Wisconsin called Little Bohemia where Dillenger had a shootout with government officials. Maybe not bizzare but the house where the shootout occurred is still there. Everything is intact, broken windows bullet holes in the walls, and even the suitcases and clothes they left. Again maybe not bizzare but strange.
105. QDV - February 6th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
No mention of the Cockroach Hall of Fame in Plano, TX? www.pestshop.com
Obligatory bomb-throw on the Creationism discussion: It has always amazed me that people who believe in a man’s being made from clay (later screwed out of his place in Eden by a talking snake, no less) seem to have a problem with the strawman idea that a monkey turned into a man or a dog turned into a cat. Can I get some references for clay turning into a human being, or a snake’s speaking? How is this different from the “theory” of a man’s being licked out of a salt block by a cow, in the religion of the Norsemen?
Regarding the notion of evolution=cosmology, think of it this way: I can demonstrate to you that Latin evolved into the Romance languages. No Latin speaker just woke up one morning in Toledo speaking Spanish, though, and the process took time. However, that I cannot document (except through philology) the existence of Latin’s mother tongue (Proto-IndoEuropean) in no way invalidates that Latin evolved into Spanish and the other Romance languages. That we have questions about things that occurred during that evolution — why do we have -y on “soy,” “voy,” and “estoy,” when those aren’t present in Latin or Old Spanish — neither invalidates that, well, Latin evolved into Spanish in parts of the Iberian peninsula. No regard for origins here.
106. SlickWilly - February 7th, 2008 at 10:16 am
QDV: Absolutely. When most people think of evolution and natural selection, they think of speciation in animals and plants. Alot of people don’t realize that those same forces are at work in many other arenas as well! Language is a perfect example. So is society, in general. So is technology. So are paradigms, both scientific and un-scientific! I think it’s great that you brought that up, as it offers a perfect analogy to those that arn’t as well informed on the idea of evolution as to how evolution tends to work. Spanish did’t just pop up one day out of Latin….it was a slow process that developed through ruralization and…I’m sure you say this coming….isolation! Perhaps not sexual isolation, as is one of the catalysts of evolution in animals….but isolation just the same. A certain collective group of people come together and start communicating with little outside interference. That’s how Spanish, Italian, Portugese, etc. (all the romantic languages) came about….you could say that Latin is their Most Recent Common Ancestor!
Hahaha….I’m all giddy now. I think I take my studies a little too seriously.
107. Mom424 - February 7th, 2008 at 11:09 am
QVD, SlickWilly; I agree with Slick (again), wonderful analogy/parallel. I never thought of using the evolution of language in the battle against willful militant ignorance. It won’t matter a damn though, can’t fight faith with reason, much as we try. Note the lack of reply from Incipiat…
108. Angelina - February 7th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Ok, people, enough about evolution/creation, there’s a frickin’ penis museum!!! Hello!!!!
109. SlickWilly - February 7th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Mom424: I’m giving him(her) the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he(she) will come back to the table with something we can actually have an educated discussion about.
110. SlickWilly - February 7th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Angelina: Hahahaha…..Freud would have a field day with you.
111. treypole - February 7th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
I wonder if the vibrator museum has a Steely Dan?
112. SlickWilly - February 7th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
treypole: Wouldn’t bet on it. I seem to recall steely dan was just a huge metal dildo. I don’t think it vibrated at all, though Burroughs doesn’t address it in detail.
113. aly - February 7th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
hey this is wierd stuff mmmaannn… coolio… is anyone there
114. Roo - February 8th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Hey, I used to live by the Lawnmower Museum! Ok, it’s no Eroticism Museum, but hey, you can’t have it all.
115. Mom424 - February 8th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Angelina; I live with six guys, I don’t need a penis museum. Come to think of it, I’m so sick of men I think I’ll be a lesbian in my next life…
116. B - February 27th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
As a Christian i am somewhat offended that the creation museum was listed. why is it so impossible to believe in creation and so easy for people to accept something so ridiculous as evolution?
117. Juggz - February 27th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
b: why is it impossible for you to believe in evolution when you so easily accept something as ridiculous as creationism?
118. otay - February 27th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Scientific answers to evolution have been done through tested experiments with repeatable results. Bible answers question of creation with: “Just because”…….
Here’s an eye opening thought: Maybe the Bible was written by a bunch of drunk men…. as a joke. As i said, just a thought. :O
119. Daniel - March 25th, 2008 at 7:33 am
there is also the Salt and Pepper Shaker museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee
120. Sugarpie - April 19th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
haha the Barbed wire museum!!! In quebec we have the snowmobile museum.
121. Rinneganleks - May 10th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Homer Simpson!
122. Taija - May 11th, 2008 at 6:25 am
I so want to visit the vibrator museum.
123. Tink - May 25th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Jfrater,
I’m not offended as other Christians may be about the listing of such a weird museum.. however, I just wish that while listing it, you’d remain a little more neutral about your stance on the issue. By quoting people that invalidate the museum as fact and adding to it saying that the museum rejects evolution, it makes it appear too biased. Go ahead and say it’s weird, outrageous, and bizarre, I agree. But to couter what the museum promotes with your and the scientific community’s stance is doesn’t seem right to the neutral thinking reader. Why not share a devout Christians view on the Lower Jurassic museum or what a Christian magazine would say about it. The point is… why not be neutral? It makes the site much more enjoyable to read and allows the readers to decide for themselves… no matter how crazy the idea may seem.
124. Chris - May 31st, 2008 at 8:09 am
About the Mutter Museum- they have a secret mutilated phallus exhibit- you have to ask one of the curators nicely in order to see it.
125. Ellen - July 9th, 2008 at 6:07 am
The wierdest museum I have ever been to is hands down the Swarovski Crystal World in Austria. That place was really, really strange.
126. HammerTroll - September 8th, 2008 at 9:23 am
OMG, i can’t believe it!
There is NO POOP MUSEUM ON THE LIST?!
http://babelhut.com/languages/.....op-museum/
127. Tony Castillo - September 11th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Great list. I feel though the million dollar museum(not what you think) in whites city , new mexico should really be on this list.
128. Brickhouse - September 22nd, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Okay, I’m really intrigued by the vibrator museum. That one pictured looks like it’d be loads of fun!
129. ajaxkid - October 4th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
http://www.mum.org/
That is the Museum of Menstruation.
It belongs to a MAN and he discusses in his web site, why he, a man, started the museum.
This is a damn fascinating site and there is nothing “nasty” about it.
He actually had the museum in his home, at one time.
Check it out! ; )
130. Davo - October 16th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
number 6 is the dumbest in the list. what sort of dipshits were allowed to open the museum? what’s next the “Santa is real” museum? c’mon people it’s time to wakeup and live in the real world. Incipiat is clearly living in a weird delusional world where evidence and facts have no meaning. fark.
131. Ash - October 22nd, 2008 at 5:05 am
I hope the antique vibrator mueseum has a gift shop
I kid I kid…