Believe it or not, college fraternities did not invent the drinking game (okay, maybe beer pong but who wants to play that except idiot douchebags?). Consuming alcoholic beverages and playing games simultaneously dates back to antiquity. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston just opened the brand new Kunstkammer Gallery,...
If you ever find yourself in Waldsassen, Germany, make sure to stop by the basilica because this place is your macabre dream come true. The church contains ten reliquaries of richly dressed and bejeweled skeletons of Christian martyrs, the largest intact collection in all of Europe. Known as the “Holy...
Right outside Tokyo, in the town of Saitama, is a museum called the Hall of Curious Rocks. The museum’s founder was a rock collector for over fifty years. He was drawn to unusual and rare rocks. Ultimately his collection numbered over 1,700 stones, but what makes this museum so interesting...
If you are really into teeny tiny churches, I recommend checking out this list from Roadside America. But when it comes to huge churches, specifically the world’s tallest church spire and chapel, the Chicago Temple Building wins the title. Constructed in 1924 by the architectural firm of Holabird and Roche,...
Entering a vast museum complex, whether it be an institution like the Louvre or the Met, overwhelms the average tourist. They’ve most likely never been to this museum before so they grab a map and study the location of must-see pieces and exhibits. Racing through endless galleries, sometimes two or...
Why would you want to visit Paris when you can just go to the South of France and see the trash version (not to be confused with Paris Hilton or the hotel in Las Vegas) for free? For almost two decades Gerard Brion has been recreating landmarks, like the Eiffel...
Over the last few months the old inbox has received a number of interesting submissions*, so I thought I’d get around to sharing them with you. Let’s start with the Ralph Foster Museum at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri. Locally known as “The Smithsonian of the...
Feb 5 in 1909 Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announced the creation of Bakelite, the world’s first synthetic plastic. And the world has never been the same since. The scientist was already a millionaire thanks to the sale of his photographic paper patent to Kodak, but phenol-formaldehyde (the not-so nice name...
The Dinner Party is a permanent exhibit at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum. An important milestone in 1970s feminist art, the piece was created by artist Judy Chicago who wanted to “end the ongoing cycle of omission in which women were written out...
Even though he was known for killing lots and lots of animals, the cute lil’ teddy bear was named after President Teddy Roosevelt due to an incident on a bear hunting trip in Mississippi in November 1902. An American Black Bear was cornered, clubbed, and tied to a willow tree...
Coffee Mug Tree, Catawba Valley Drive, west of Roanoke, Virginia. I don’t know about you, but I have too many coffee mugs. I mean, I like coffee, but how many cups of coffee can one person drink? My mom used to travel quite a bit back in the day, and...
We’ve covered miniature versions of cities here before; like Miniatürk, one of the world’s largest miniature parks, and Mini-Paris. Well, you can add one more “mini” to the list with Mini Israel. First conceived by Israeli entrepreneur Eiran Gazit after he visited the famous miniature town of Madurodam in the...
