# Strange Museums (as in, way too specialised) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 2, 2019, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052 "2019-08-02T11:14:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/1 "2019-08-02T11:14:05Z")
**mixdenny** (pencil sharpener museum) and **WildaBeast** (mustard) brought us here (from [this](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=879690) thread). It prompts the obvious question: what weird and/or absurdly specialised museums have you visited, or indeed chosen not to visit, or perhaps are simply aware of? For my part I give you [**The Chip Museum**](http://www.frietmuseum.be/en/) (as in french fries) in Bruges, Belgium\*. I love Bruges. Frankly, there’s plenty to do there without visiting museums. Even sensible ones. We opted not to. So what have you got? And did you actually visit? j - - OK, I accept that, given Belgium’s national obsession with _frites_, from a local perspective this may be hardly specialised at all. But anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dave.B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9f8e36/32.png) [@Dave.B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave.B)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/2 "2019-08-02T11:47:42Z")
I’ve always managed to resist the urge to visit [Barometer World](http://www.barometerworld.co.uk/), which is not too far from where I live. Maybe one day… ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/3 "2019-08-02T12:24:52Z")
There’s the Barbed Wire Museum in LaCrosse, Kansas. Tucson has the Mini Time Machine Museum which is miniature houses and dioramas. I’ve visited it a few times. There is apparently an accordion museum in Superior, Wisconsin. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/4 "2019-08-02T12:42:53Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > It prompts the obvious question: what weird and/or absurdly specialised museums have you visited, or indeed chosen not to visit, or perhaps are simply aware of? These are all ones I’m aware of: QI clued me into the existence of the[Cabinet of Lost Noses](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/nasothek-nose-collection), and now I must visit it. Also on my list is the the [Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum](http://www.instantramen-museum.jp/en/), the [Avanos Hair Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_museum#Avanos_Hair_Museum) in Turkey, the [Dog Collar Museum](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dog-collar-museum) in England and possibly top of the list, the [Museum of Broken Relationships](https://brokenships.com/visit) in Croatia. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/5 "2019-08-02T13:01:46Z")
Reykyavik has a pretty famous Penis Museum. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/6 "2019-08-02T13:37:15Z")
[Parasite museum](https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/tokyos-museum-of-parasites-will-make-your-skin-crawl/). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/7 "2019-08-02T13:56:53Z")
There’s a marzipan museum in Szentendre, Hungary, which even has lifesized figures made out of marzipan (so, like a wax museum.) Madison, Wisconsin, has a mustard museum. And here in Chicago we have a museum of surgical sciences. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/8 "2019-08-02T14:05:06Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > There’s a marzipan museum in Szentendre, Hungary, which even has lifesized figures made out of marzipan (so, like a wax museum.) Madison, Wisconsin, has a mustard museum. And here in Chicago we have a museum of surgical sciences. Technically The Mustard Museum is in Middleton, not Madison. Separate towns (though they’ve grown out to each other these days). Part of La Specola in Florence, Italy, is devoted to was anatomical figures. I looked at a few then sat on the steps of the area and basked in the A.C. while my dad checked them out. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/9 "2019-08-02T14:25:06Z")
[Stark’s Vacuum Museum](https://starks.com/about/vacuum-museum/) here in Portland, Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/10 "2019-08-02T14:28:40Z")
There had been The Nut Museum in CT, run by a little old lady. I think she’s since died. > **[The Nut Lady Returns](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/04/18/the-nut-lady-returns)** > > Talk story about Elizabeth Tashjian, the “Nut Lady.” For 30 years, Elizabeth Tashjian ran the Nut Museum out of her house, a Gothic Revival mansion in… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/11 "2019-08-02T15:04:31Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > Technically The Mustard Museum is in Middleton, not Madison. Separate towns (though they’ve grown out to each other these days). Ah, I’ve never actually been to that location. I only visited the old one which was … I think in Mt. Horeb. [Here’s a marzipan Michael Jackson](https://www.orszagjaro.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/marcipan-muzeum-szentendre04.jpg) from the museum in Szentendre, Hungary. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/12 "2019-08-02T15:17:55Z")
A number of my family members are big fans of the British Channel Island of Guernsey. (I’m not in that select band – I reckon it a perfectly nice place, but “not all that much of a much”.) Our family “Guernsey nuts” have long had an ongoing joke to the effect that even on that blessed isle: you’re running short of things to do, if you’re starting to contemplate a visit to the Guernsey Telephone Museum. (Which I learn, incidentally, has recently closed; though there is some hope of a revival.) I get the feeling that I personally would – although not exactly riveted – probably find a certain amount of interest in this particular establishment. More so, I’d reckon, than with one dedicated to pencil sharpeners or barbed wire. www.museums.gov.gg/telephones ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/13 "2019-08-02T15:28:58Z")
We stopped by the Roswell “Alien” museum on our way to a ski trip. All the displays looked like cheesy high school projects. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/14 "2019-08-02T15:36:09Z")
I have heard of the Icelandic penis museum, but I have gone past the Cromwell Doll Museum. Outside there is a sign. It says “DOLL MUSEUM”. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/15 "2019-08-02T16:21:41Z")
I love going to all of those “strange”/niche/small town museums when I’m on the road. There’s a lot of junk, kitsch and cheesy stuff but I find there’s always at least one item that makes the visit worthwhile. One example in particular was at the Kern Valley Museum that had a beautiful pristine B-17 training manual filled with amazing multi-layered transparent overlays. In the Bay Area there’s the Pez Museum in Burlingame, the Bigfoot Museum in Felton and the Crockett Historical Museum with its stuffed record-setting sturgeon. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/16 "2019-08-02T16:57:41Z")
During our recent trip to Italy, we stopped by the [Joe Petrosino Museum](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187778-d246294-Reviews-Joe_Petrosino_Museum-Campania.html), dedicated to [the fearless anti-Mafia shoeshine boy who became the first Italian-American police officer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Petrosino). The story is actually quite dramatic – Petrosino pioneered undercover policing techniques still used today, befriended New York City Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt, and was murdered in Italy while researching the Sicilian Mafia. The Mafia held a celebration of the killing, at which 20,000 people showed up, either paid or coerced, to demonstrate their power. Petrosino’s body was returned to the US, where Roosevelt (now President), held a funeral parade that drew 200,000 people. The city gave everyone the day off to attend. Leonardo DiCaprio will play him in an upcoming movie (_The Black Hand_, predicted for 2020 release). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/17 "2019-08-02T17:05:23Z")
I’ve been to the [National Museum of Funeral History](https://www.nmfh.org/) in Houston. It was a pretty good museum and worth visiting if you’re in the area. The [New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum](https://www.voodoomuseum.com/), on the other hand, can be skipped. It’s a glorified gift shop. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/18 "2019-08-02T17:06:37Z")
> [@Dave.B](#): > > I’ve always managed to resist the urge to visit [Barometer World](http://www.barometerworld.co.uk/), which is not too far from where I live. > Maybe one day… Can you resist the PRESSURE to visit it? 😉 The mustard museum was indeed in Mt Horeb Brian ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/19 "2019-08-02T17:07:42Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > Technically The Mustard Museum is in Middleton, not Madison. Hey, tomorrow is [National Mustard Day](https://mustardmuseum.com/annual-national-mustard-day/2019-mustard-day/)! Is anyone planning on attending the big mustard festival in Middleton? ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/20 "2019-08-02T18:28:25Z")
The [Salt Palace Museum](https://grandsalinesaltpalace.com/), in Grand Saline(where else would it be?), TX is pretty interesting. The building is made of salt. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052.md?page=2)