Over the weekend on a visit to Kenosha, I accidentally bumped into Bjorn’s Clothing Store and Museum, described as the “anti-mall, un-Wal-Mart”. Owner Mike Bjorn’s “Tuxedo Wonder Museum” is just that, a true curiosity. All surfaces in the old Kresge’s dime store are covered with random and absurd things; a...
The tiny Musée de la Prohibition is housed, appropriately enough, near the bar in Hotel Robert at Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, a tiny group of islands belonging to France but lying off the coast of Newfoundland. During prohibition in the U.S., Saint-Pierre was a staging point for rum-runners, mostly the Mafia. A hat...
One might jump to the assumption that the only person crazy enough to collect over 1,800 tubes of toothpaste would be a dentist — and guess what? You’re right. At the moment, the only guy to have such a collection is, in fact, a dentist named Dr. Val Kolpakov from...
In honour of the late Shirley Temple, not only should you pour yourself a Shirley Temple cocktail but you should also pay a visit to your local doll museum. There are many doll collections around the United States, including the Hobby City Doll Museum, which has a huge Shirley Temple...
I have relatives who live in the St. Francis/Cudahy area of Milwaukee, so on a trip up there this past Saturday I thought I’d find if there is anything weird and/or interesting to check out. And what a surprise…there is. Known as the “Keep Cudahy Fun” House, the home of...
Let’s carry on October’s theme of “scary things” with Zaffis Museum of the Paranormal located in the barn at the back of John Zaffis’ house in Stratford, Connecticut. Zaffis is the nephew of controversial paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who are best known for their involvement in the 1976...
Ah, Wales. As my English and Scots friends say, “The Welsh…they’re a bit funny.” Even if you don’t agree with that statement like I do, you have to admit this next museum is just that…a bit funny. The South Welsh Borderers Museum is located in Brecon near Knighton in Powys....
In a tiny jewelry store in the middle of Shanghai you’ll find what is probably the world’s smallest museum. Lan Xiang, who lives upstairs, displays his collection of chopsticks in one of the store’s cabinets. If you happen to speak the Mandarin dialect of Putonghua, then you’re in luck. Xiang...
If you’re a Beatles fanatic (or at least obsessed with George Harrison), then let me tell you about the small town of Benton, Illinois. Why, you ask? Well, George’s sister Louise left her then home of Inverness, Scotland in 1956 with her miner husband and two small children for Canada,...
This Christmas post was in my queue and I forgot to post it on the big day. But I think it works quite well with this week’s “miniature” theme. This 100-year-old doll cat quartet is part of the Supreme Burgrave’s House collection, which is located in Prague Castle. The historical...
