Park your normal views of what
constitutes a good museum. If you really
want to understand human culture, then as well as the Tate and the Louvre and
the Museo del Prado there’s also the Spam Museum in Minnesota or the Museum of
Broken Relationships in Croatia. Here
are eight of the strangest..
DEUTSCHES CURRYWURST MUSEUM (BERLIN, GERMANY)
At one of
the quirkiest museums in Berlin, the currywurst is elevated to an
art form. The museum includes a replica of the kitchen where the dish – which
is a bratwurst on a bun topped with a mix of ketchup and curry powder – was
created, a comprehensive map of all the currywurst shops in the city, and of
course a gift shop full of currywurst merchandise.
RAMONES MUSEUM (BERLIN, GERMANY)
Another Berlin
museum, this
one is dedicated to the Ramones. Created by a fan of the band,
the museum traces their history and showcases memorabilia and photos from
throughout their career. The museum also hosts live music shows.
LEILA’S HAIR MUSEUM (INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI)
Not surprisingly proclaiming
itself to be the only hair museum in the world, Leila’s Hair
Museum in Independence, Missouri displays everything from jewellery
made of hair to hair wreaths and photos “painted” with pulverized hair mixed
with dyes. Locks of hair from famous people throughout history, including
Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe, are also exhibited.
PHALLOLOGICAL MUSEUM (REYKJAVIK, ICELAND)
Ok, so you want to know what the penis of a whale looks like? Now you can find out at the Phallological Museum in
Iceland. Formerly housed in the small northern town of Husavik, the museum
recently moved to Reykjavik, where it displays more than 200 penis specimens
mounted on the walls and encased in glass jars.
And, you can sign up to make your own
contribution to the collection after your death.
THE MUSEUM OF BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS (ZAGREB,
CROATIA)
In Zagreb’s Museum of Broken
Relationships, you can relive breakups that are at times both
heart-breaking and hilarious. Here the most mundane of objects are each
displayed alongside sad stories of love lost. Many of the stories are quite
moving; take a hankie!
SPAM MUSEUM (AUSTIN, MINNESOTA)
My personal
favourite. And as lovers of Spam and
Monty Python would say, Spam, Spam, Spam!
At the Austin, Minnesota, store and museum, you
can watch a short video on the history of SPAM, learn about the role Spam
played in World War II, practice on a mock assembly line, and fill up on
samples of the more than dozen varieties currently in production. Bloody
Vikings!
BRITISH LAWNMOWER MUSEUM
Many people say my
Lawnmower is an antique and should be in a museum. Well here it is, The British
Lawnmower Museum, which is also a shop, displays some of the first
lawnmowers ever made, some of the most expensive mowing machines, and some of
the fastest lawnmowers used throughout the years. While a visit sounds about as
exciting as watching grass grow, there are those that will find this wonderful.
MUSEUM OF TOILETS (INDIA)
India’s
Museum of Toilets actually has a greater purpose – to raise
awareness of the health issues caused by improper sanitation, but it does displays
toilets ranging from some of the earlier loos to the “thrones” used by royalty.
