Just an hour’s drive from Vienna is the small village of Herrnbaumgarten. Located near the Czech border and next to the wine village of Poysdorf (did someone say wine?) many people view this town in Lower Austria as a quirky place. Travel groups from Asia and other parts of Europe make a point to stop here. Maybe that’s because it’s home to the Nonseum, a museum created in 1983 by two locals named Fritz Gall and Friedl Umscheid who decided to offer a permanent place to display exotic inventions that never took off. Yes, you read that right – a museum dedicated to inventions that nobody really needs (think the Body Laptop Wooly Jumper or Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Tacos). The exhibit is full of hundreds of useless and somewhat amusing items, like a heated garden gnome, a champagne cork catcher, finger nail guillotines, a foldable snow sled, a cane with wheels, high heel protectors, a wine chess table, transparent playing cards, and even an umbrella for sun lovers. It sounds like they have everything, well, except for a Jump to Conclusions Mat.
Nonseum, Austria
