When it comes to public art, it can either be annoying and pointless (like children falling down while holding hands) or really weird and completely random. We’ve covered some strange statues before, like the “Child Eater” in Switzerland, the Boll Weevil Monument in Alabama, and the Beatles in Kazakhstan. Well,...
The World Famous Crochet Museum (‘world famous’ usually means that you’ve never heard of it) is located in a 5-by-8-foot former plastic green Fotomat kiosk. It is part of the random ‘Art Queen Gallery’ (near the northern entrance of Joshua Tree National Park) that is run by Shari Elf, an...
I’m a vegetarian (well, kind of…in that I eat dead animals every 3 to 6 months). But if I ever find myself in Szeged, Hungary that won’t stop me from checking out the Salami and Paprika Museum. You can say cured meat is in my blood because my family used...
If you happen to live in NYC or will be visiting the city between now and February 2015, you should check out the new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Death Becomes Her” looks at the evolution of mourning garments through the 19th and 20th centuries, for example a...
Every third Monday in January marks the American federal holiday known as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. There are a number of monuments, memorials, streets, libraries and schools named after the African-American activist, but probably the most random (and by the far the coldest) is the Martin Luther King Jr....
With earlier posts about Korea’s Penis Park and Prague’s Sex Machines Museum, it should come as no surprise that this dirty little ol’ blog is now telling you about the Phallic Shrine in Bangkok. In the heart of the city right behind the five star luxury hotel Swissotel Nai Lert...
April 9, 1926 is Hugh Hefner’s birthday. I don’t like the guy or what he stands for, but he is connected to Chicago so there’s that. My grandfather went to Steinmetz High School with him (they also had the same birthday…R.I.P. Stosh), and once while working at one of my...
As we near closer to the date of Valentine’s Day where single women over 30 are driven to near suicide with the “dinner-for-two” specials and men are forced to buy crap for their significant others that they clearly don’t need (oh, but how it makes them feel so loved), let’s...
At Museo della Frutta in Turin, Italy, the pomological collection by Francesco Garnier Valletti consists of thousands of varieties of apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, grapes…and oranges. Pomology is the study and cultivation of fruit. The museum not only has a couple of pomological collection rooms, but also reconstructions of...
With the imposing walls of a ruined medieval castle standing in the background, Conwy’s Quay House is not only the smallest house in Great Britain, but probably also the smallest house museum in the world. I had a chance to visit this itsy bitsy tourist attraction on a day trip...
We continue our guest submissions with a long-awaited post from Alli Burness, who documents her travels around the world visiting museums at Museum in a Bottle (you can also find her on twitter @alli_burnie). If you don’t follow Alli already, I highly recommend you do, especially if you like museums...
Life Savers, a ring-shaped hard candy that is usually wrapped in foil rolls, was occasionally featured on the television show Mad Men. I remember in “The Phantom” episode Pete wanted “fresh” Life Savers from the lobby (whatever that means), then there was that time Peggy lost both a nickel and...
