Hi there! I’m John Green, and welcome to a fun journey through some of the world’s most unusual museums. Did you know there’s a museum in Kansas dedicated entirely to barbed wire? It has 2,400 different types of barbed wire! This museum is a favorite spot for barbed wire collectors, almost like their own special hangout.
If you enjoy meat jokes, the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota, is a must-visit. Known as the “Museum of Meat-Themed Awesomeness,” it offers a chance to learn about the history of Spam and even test your knowledge with some trivia games.
In Somerville, Massachusetts, there’s the Museum of Bad Art. As the name suggests, it showcases art that’s so bad, it’s good! The museum is located in a basement, with some galleries even near a movie theater’s men’s restroom.
In Houston, Texas, you’ll find the National Museum of Funeral History. It holds the largest collection of funeral artifacts in the U.S., including a life-sized recreation of a historical figure in his coffin!
Burlingame, California, is home to a museum filled with Pez dispensers—900 of them! If you’re into unique medical exhibits, the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia has displays like “Innovations in Spinal Surgery” and even pieces of Albert Einstein’s brain.
In Independence, Missouri, Leela’s Hair Museum is the only one of its kind, featuring wreaths and jewelry made from human hair, including locks from famous people.
If you’re a fan of horror movies, you might want to skip the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. It has around 800 ventriloquist dummies and hosts an annual convention for ventriloquists.
In Iceland, there’s a museum dedicated to penises from 93 different species. They take pride in having almost every mammal represented.
In Auburn, Washington, a museum dedicated to bananas houses nearly 6,000 banana-related items, curated by a banana enthusiast.
Seattle’s Giant Shoe Museum features a shoe from the tallest man in history. Meanwhile, Tokyo’s parasite museum offers a deep dive into the world of parasites with 300 specimens.
In Japan, the Ramen Museum lets you eat, shop, and even race slot cars on a 30-meter track with six lanes.
Arlington, Massachusetts, has a Burnt Food Museum, inspired by a burnt apple cider incident. It displays unique items like a thrice-baked potato.
Chattanooga, Tennessee, hosts a museum with a Hall of Fame and a memorial for those who died while towing.
Pocatello, Idaho, is home to the Museum of Clean, featuring the world’s largest collection of vacuum cleaners and other cleaning tools.
In Croatia, the Museum of Broken Relationships invites people to donate items from past relationships, from wedding dresses to letters.
Massachusetts has a Beer Can Museum with 5,000 cans from over 50 countries, while Wisconsin’s National Mustard Museum boasts over 5,600 mustards!
Burlington, Wisconsin, features a museum with 2,000 spinning tops, yo-yos, and other toys.
In Keswick, England, the Pencil Museum showcases the world’s longest colored pencil. The Lock Museum in Terryville, Connecticut, displays locks, including a 4,000-year-old Egyptian lock.
Brugge’s Lamp Museum has 6,000 antique lamps, while New Delhi’s International Museum of Toilets features historical toilets.
Felton, California, is home to the Bigfoot Discovery Museum, where you can learn about local history and watch documentaries, though Bigfoot himself remains elusive.
Cat lovers will enjoy the Cat Museum in East Malaysia, showcasing cat figurines, toys, and even a mummified cat from ancient Egypt.
Finally, the Gelato Museum in Carpani, Italy, opened in 2012. Here, you can explore the history of gelato and enjoy a tasting room!
Thanks for joining me on this tour of quirky museums! If you have any mind-blowing questions, feel free to share them in the comments below.
Imagine you are curating your own exhibit for a weird museum. Choose a unique theme or object that you think would fit well in a quirky museum. Create a poster or a digital presentation that includes a description of your exhibit, why it’s interesting, and what visitors can learn from it. Share your exhibit with the class and explain your choices.
Choose one of the museums mentioned in the article and research it online. Create a virtual tour using images and information you find. Present your tour to the class, highlighting the most unusual and fascinating aspects of the museum. Discuss what makes this museum stand out and why people might want to visit it.
Develop a trivia game based on the museums mentioned in the article. Create questions that test your classmates’ knowledge about the museums, their locations, and the unique exhibits they feature. Host a trivia session in class and see who knows the most about these weird museums!
Select one of the museums from the article and design a brochure that could be used to attract visitors. Include interesting facts, images, and reasons why someone should visit. Make sure your brochure is visually appealing and informative. Share your brochure with the class and discuss what you learned about the museum.
Write a short story set in one of the weird museums from the article. Imagine what it would be like to visit the museum and what kind of adventures or mysteries you might encounter there. Share your story with the class and discuss how the museum’s unique features inspired your narrative.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hi, I’m John Green. Welcome to Mental Floss on YouTube! Did you know that Kansas has a barbed wire museum with 2,400 different examples of barbed wire? There’s an actual antique barbed wire society that runs it, and apparently, the museum is a real hotspot for barbed wire collectors. It’s like their Tinder!
That’s just the first of many weird museums I’m going to tell you about today in this video brought to you by Geico. If you like meat puns—and frankly, who doesn’t?—look no further than the Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota. It’s also affectionately referred to as the “Museum of Meat-Themed Awesomeness.” At the Spam Museum, you can learn about the history of Spam and test your knowledge with some trivia.
Speaking of museums, the Museum of Bad Art is located in Somerville, Massachusetts. It’s exactly what it sounds like—a collection of really bad art. The museum is basically located in a basement, and they have a few galleries around town, including one by the men’s restroom at a local movie theater.
The National Museum of Funeral History can be found in Houston, Texas. It has the biggest collection of funeral artifacts in the United States. There’s even a full-scale recreation of a historical figure in his coffin!
In Burlingame, California, there’s a museum dedicated to Pez memorabilia, containing every Pez dispenser ever made—900 in total! If exhibitions like “Innovations in Spinal Surgery” and “Death and Healing in Civil War Philadelphia” sound interesting to you, then you should visit the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. You can also see actual pieces of Albert Einstein’s brain there.
Unfortunately, the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices in Minneapolis is now closed, but you can still find parts of its collection at the Science Museum of Minnesota.
Leela’s Hair Museum can be found in Independence, Missouri. It’s the only hair museum in the world, featuring hundreds of wreaths and thousands of jewelry pieces made from human hair. It also contains locks of hair from notable figures.
If you’re a fan of horror movies, you might want to skip the Vent Haven Museum of Ventriloquist Dummies in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. It houses around 800 dummies and has an annual convention that attracts over 600 ventriloquists.
An Icelandic Penis Museum can be found at the Icelandic Phallological Museum, featuring over 280 penises from 93 species. They’re especially proud to have penises representing almost every mammal found in Iceland.
In Auburn, Washington, there’s the Washington Banana Museum, curated by a self-proclaimed scholar of banana consciousness. She has collected almost 6,000 banana artifacts!
The Giant Shoe Museum in Seattle features one actual shoe belonging to the tallest man in recorded history, while the only parasite museum in the world can be found in Tokyo, where you can learn all about parasites and even look at 300 specimens.
If you’re already in Japan, don’t skip the Ramen Museum, where you can eat, shop, and race slot cars. The museum has a slot car track that’s 30 meters long with six lanes.
The Burnt Food Museum in Arlington, Massachusetts, was inspired by a burnt apple cider incident. Displays include a thrice-baked potato and other unique items.
The International Towing and Recovery Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee, features a Hall of Fame and a wall dedicated to those who have died while towing.
The Museum of Clean in Pocatello, Idaho, boasts the world’s largest collection of vacuum cleaners, along with washers, toilets, and brooms.
In Croatia, the Museum of Broken Relationships encourages people to donate items from relationships that have ended. This can be anything from wedding dresses to letters.
There’s also a Beer Can Museum in Massachusetts with 5,000 beer cans from over 50 countries, and the National Mustard Museum in Wisconsin has over 5,600 mustards!
The Spinning Top Museum in Burlington, Wisconsin, features a total of 2,000 spinning tops, yo-yos, and other spinning toys.
In Keswick, England, there’s a Pencil Museum, which includes the world’s longest colored pencil. The Lock Museum in Terryville, Connecticut, showcases a variety of locks, including a 4,000-year-old pin tumbler lock from Egypt.
The Lamp Museum in Brugge has a total of 6,000 antique lamps. The International Museum of Toilets in New Delhi contains all kinds of historical toilets.
If you’re interested in Bigfoot, the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in Felton, California, has everything except for Bigfoot himself. You can explore local history and watch documentaries.
For cat lovers, there’s a Cat Museum in East Malaysia, featuring cat figurines, toys, and even a mummified cat from ancient Egypt.
Finally, I want to tell you about the Gelato Museum, which opened in Carpani, Italy, in 2012. Here, you can learn all about the history of gelato, and more importantly, there’s a tasting room!
Thanks for watching Mental Floss on YouTube! If you have a mind-blowing question you’d like answered, please leave it in the comments below.
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This version removes any inappropriate or unclear language while maintaining the essence of the original content.
Museum – A building or place where works of art, scientific specimens, or other objects of permanent value are kept and displayed. – The museum had an impressive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts that fascinated the students.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – In history class, we learned about the American Revolution and its impact on the world.
Art – The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture. – The art exhibit featured paintings from the Renaissance period, showcasing the talent of artists like Leonardo da Vinci.
Texas – A state in the southern United States known for its rich history, including the Alamo and its role in the Civil War. – Texas played a significant role in American history, especially during the era of westward expansion.
California – A state on the west coast of the United States known for its diverse culture and history, including the Gold Rush of 1849. – The California Gold Rush attracted thousands of people hoping to strike it rich in the mid-19th century.
Japan – An island country in East Asia with a rich cultural history, including traditional arts like origami and tea ceremonies. – Japan’s history includes the era of the samurai, who were skilled warriors and important figures in Japanese culture.
Egypt – A country in northeastern Africa known for its ancient civilization and monumental architecture like the pyramids. – Ancient Egypt is famous for its pharaohs and the construction of the pyramids, which still stand today.
Massachusetts – A state in the northeastern United States with a significant historical background, including the Pilgrims and the American Revolution. – Massachusetts is home to many historical sites, such as Plymouth Rock and the Freedom Trail in Boston.
Minnesota – A state in the northern United States known for its lakes and its role in the fur trade during the 18th and 19th centuries. – Minnesota’s history includes the early fur trade, which was crucial to the economy of the region.
Washington – A state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, named after George Washington, the first U.S. president. – Washington State is known for its natural beauty and its history of exploration and settlement in the 19th century.
