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Museums are everywhere; almost every major city around the globe has one, typically focused on art or history. While renowned institutions like MoMA and the Louvre serve as vital cultural icons, some people seek out more unusual experiences and explore the stranger side of museums.
10. Paris Sewers Museum
Nestled in the heart of France, the Paris Sewers Museum (Le Musée des Égouts de Paris) offers a unique, albeit slightly uncomfortable, guided tour. You’ll explore a system that dates back to 1370, where the first vaulted sewer was constructed, eventually expanding to over 2,400 kilometers (1,491 miles) in length, carrying its waste to distant streams.
Starting with the 1867 World’s Fair, the French government allowed the public to explore the vast underground network of Paris, using small trains, boats, and even gondolas to travel through the sewers. Unfortunately, due to security reasons, public tours of the sewer system are no longer permitted except through the Paris Sewers Museum. Interestingly, each intersection in the system has its own street signs, matching those above ground, which would allow you to traverse Paris without encountering any locals. But, to be honest, you’d miss out on the iconic architecture too.
9. Museum Of Questionable Medical Devices
Although it officially closed in 2002, the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices still lives on as a permanent exhibition within the Science Museum of Minnesota. Founded by Bob McCoy, an enthusiast of medical quackery, it’s packed with bizarre inventions once touted to cure various ailments, many of which date back to the early 20th century. Some memorable exhibits include a foot-powered breast-enlarging pump and a contraption that delivered shocks to supposedly boost virility.
A few of the devices are still operable, like the phrenology reader, which was claimed to map the brain, offering insights into a person’s morality and intelligence, among other traits. Other devices, such as the Buster Brown shoe-fitting fluoroscope, are no longer functional. This device, which let people peer inside their shoes to check their fit, was introduced in the 1930s but was banned by the FDA in the 1970s due to its health risks.
8. Winchester Mystery House
Constructed in the late 1800s, the Winchester Mystery House was the creation of Sarah Winchester, widow of William Wirt Winchester, heir to the Winchester Rifle fortune. After her husband's death, Sarah sought the advice of a medium, who revealed that the spirits of those killed by the family’s rifles were angry. The only way to calm them, according to the medium, was for Sarah to build a house that would never be finished—if she stopped, death would follow.
For 38 years, Sarah spent nearly $6 million building the house on 138 acres near San Jose, California. By the time of her death in 1922, the house boasted 160 rooms, but only 13 bathrooms. It is said that Sarah never slept in the same room twice, believing it would confuse the spirits. The house also features many stairs that lead to nowhere, adding to its eerie mystique.
7. Museum Of Broken Relationships
The Museum of Broken Relationships was conceived by Croatian duo Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišic. What began in 2006 as a traveling exhibit showcasing items from their own failed four-year romance slowly grew through the donations of friends and family. The museum offered a space for people to share their grief. Thanks to the overwhelming response, Vištica and Grubišic secured a permanent home for the museum in Zagreb in 2010.
Today, the museum draws 40,000 visitors annually, making it the only privately funded museum in the city. It features nearly 100 exhibits, categorized by the nature and duration of the relationships. Some items are lighthearted, but most carry a sense of sorrow. For example, a pair of garters is displayed with the note: “I never put them on. Maybe if I had, the relationship would have lasted longer.” In 2011, the museum won the 'most innovative' award at the European Museum Awards.
6. Museum Of Bad Art
The Museum of Bad Art (MOBA), technically a network of three museums in Massachusetts, was founded in 1994 with the unique mission of showcasing some of the world’s most poorly executed art. Their motto is “Art too bad to be ignored.” The concept came to life when antique dealer Scott Wilson spotted a dreadful painting of an elderly woman dancing between two trash cans in a field, prompting him to start collecting bad art with his friend Jerry Reilly.
Today, the collection features almost 600 works, though only 50 to 70 pieces are on display at any given time. Most of the artwork is either donated or salvaged from landfills, and every piece undergoes a thorough selection process to ensure it truly fits the criteria of 'bad.' Only around 10% of submissions are accepted. While some critics argue that MOBA mocks art, the museum's founders believe that failure plays a vital role in the creative journey. Fun fact: After one of their paintings was stolen, they installed a fake security camera with a sign reading, 'Warning. This gallery is protected by a fake security camera.'
5. Cockroach Hall Of Fame Museum
Although the Cockroach Hall of Fame Museum has since relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, it originally began in Plano, Texas, founded by exterminator Michael Bohdan. What started as an exhibit in his shop became an unexpected hit, showcasing dead cockroaches dressed as famous celebrities and historical figures. Among the notable displays are H. Ross Peroach and David Letteroach.
Bohdan's fascination with the unusual began in the 1980s when he organized a competition to find the largest cockroach in Dallas. He later traveled across the country judging cockroach fashion shows as a promotional gimmick for an insecticide brand. Over time, he saved the roaches from extermination and amassed a collection, eventually earning minor celebrity status, even appearing on The Tonight Show. One of the most iconic pieces in his collection is a white-caped cockroach by a piano, titled 'Liberoachi.'
4. Cat Museum
Located in Kuching, Malaysia, the Cat Museum is, as the name suggests, all about our beloved feline companions. The museum was established by the Chief Minister of the state to honor the city and its heritage (as 'Kucing' means 'cat' in Malay). Upon entering, visitors are greeted with various exhibits that explore the history of domestic cats, as well as artistic interpretations of these cherished animals.
While it’s far from being one of the more serious museums, the Cat Museum houses a fascinating collection of over 2,000 artifacts, including a 5,000-year-old mummified cat from Beni Hassan, Egypt. Among the museum's most prized possessions is a mounted specimen of one of the rarest cats on Earth: the Felis Badia, native to the Borneo rainforest. Kuching claims to house the only known specimen of this elusive creature. The museum enjoys popularity among locals, as cats are a beloved part of the culture, and a number of superstitions involving cats still persist on the island. For example, it was once believed that soaking a cat in water until it was half-drowned would bring about rain.
3. Beijing Museum Of Tap Water
Set on the site of Beijing's first water plant, the Beijing Museum of Tap Water showcases over 130 objects related to the history of tap water in China. This museum stands as a testament to the early collaboration between China and the West, housing a variety of historically important items, such as posters promoting the introduction of tap water. When tap water was first introduced, many Chinese citizens were skeptical and referred to it as 'foreign water,' making its acceptance a difficult task.
The water company only lasted for about three years due to the impending revolution. However, remnants of its existence remain, although much of the steel and ironworks once found on the museum’s grounds were destroyed during Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward.
2. Museum Of The Holy Souls In Purgatory
Housed in a tiny room within the Church of the Sacred Heart of the Suffrage in Rome, the Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory contains various items believed to have been touched by souls from purgatory. In Catholic belief, purgatory is the place where the deceased atone for their sins. Prayers offered on Earth can reduce the amount of time spent there. The museum’s founder, Victor Jouet, was inspired to create the museum after a fire ravaged part of the church, leaving behind a scorch mark resembling a human face, which Jouet believed was the soul of someone in purgatory.
Within a glass case, visitors can see items such as a book with a handprint said to have been burned into the pages by the hand of a deceased priest. Another artifact is linked to a woman who, after receiving a vision in a dream, held two masses in honor of her late mother-in-law. The items in this case are thought to have been touched by the souls of the departed.
1. Museum Of Burnt Food
The Museum of Burnt Food, located in Massachusetts, has its origins in the late 1980s. It all started when Grammy-nominated harpist Deborah Henson-Conant was heating some hot apple cider but got distracted by a lengthy phone call. By the time she returned, the cider was completely burned. Although it’s not officially a museum, as the pieces are stored in Henson-Conant’s house, the exhibits are occasionally loaned out and permanently displayed on the museum's website.
One of the museum’s prized items is a batch of sweet potatoes left in the oven, which were slowly cooked by the pilot light over five weeks while Henson-Conant was away in Mexico. While the museum’s approval process is not particularly strict, Henson-Conant reminds visitors to only submit accidental kitchen disasters (you can even submit your own burnt creations on the website). The museum’s motto is: 'Always leave the flame on low... and then take a long nap.'
