# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/61 "2019-08-06T18:24:44Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > 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”. In Lafayette, you can visit [Marquis’ Dolls Museum and Restoration,](https://www.jconline.com/story/money/business/2016/06/14/marquis-dolls-offers-history-lessons/85860568/) as well as the [J.H. Rathbone Museum,](http://jhrathbonemuseum.org/) which is dedicated to the history of the Knights of Pythias specifically and fraternal organizations generally. ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/62 "2019-08-06T18:56:20Z")
Torrington, AB [Gopher Hole Museum](http://gopherholemuseum.ca/). “Life in Torrington is as diverse and as interesting as the gophers and humans who populate this land.” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/63 "2019-08-07T02:25:37Z")
[Tea Pot Museum](http://www.bygonebeautys.com.au/teapot-museum/) I guess it’s not really strange – some people like tea pots. And collect them. And you can sit down and have a nice cup of tea there. But it’s just tea pots. If you don’t care about tea pots… you’re just SOL. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/64 "2019-08-07T17:28:39Z")
I live quite close to the [V & E Simonetti Historic Tuba Collection](https://simonettitubacollection.com/), which reportedly is a fabulous museum devoted entirely to tubas. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/65 "2019-08-07T18:09:01Z")
Two that come to mind that I’ve been to are the Penis Museum in Reykjavik (with a HIGHLY amused 9-year old boy in tow) and the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/66 "2019-08-07T22:03:05Z")
One of my hobbies is visiting very specific museums. I’ve been to five different Cheese Museums (in Menorca, Spain, Cornwall, Belgium and possibly another one that’s sort of blended in to the others). Port Talbot, Wales, has the Baked Bean Museum of Excellence. [https://captainbeany.com/baked-bean-museum-of-excellence/](https://captainbeany.com/baked-bean-museum-of-excellence/) Greenwich, London, has the Fan Museum (it’s well worth a visit) Balham, London, has the Sewing Machine Museum - just gorgeous There used to be a Guild of Clockmakers’ Museum in the City of London, and it was such a chilled out and otherworldly place to visit, particularly on the hour, just you, a couple of other visitors, and dozens of chiming clocks London has a lot of medical museums. Every major hospital has one, and there’s one for Anaesthesia, [https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/245225-anaesthesia-museum](https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/place/245225-anaesthesia-museum) There’s a dental museum, a herb museum, everything really. [http://medicalmuseums.org/](http://medicalmuseums.org/) There are also museums for every major Army regiment, like the Horseguards Museum. West Wycombe, England, used to have a chair museum. I saw the sign on the road and literally turned round and demanded we go there right that moment. Another closed one was the Clown Museum in London (an incredibly sad place to visit). The Canal Museum, also in London, probably counts as obscure enough for some of you, though to me it’s pretty mainstream. Amsterdam is pretty good for obscure museums, too. The Katten Kabinet is exactly what you might think it is. The Museum of Bags and Purses, the Hemp Museum, and oh I just remembered where the fifth Cheese Museum I’ve been to was. There’s a Dog Collar Museum in Kent I still haven’t been to. I also haven’t made it to the Lawnmower Museum or the Pencil Museum in Cumbria. I’ve volunteered for the East London Women’s Museum. There are probably lots of others I’ve been to that some of you would consider strange. I always find it a really good way of learning about a topic, because you get in depth, it’s usually personal and owned by one person, and staffed by volunteers who know their subject really well and can be enjoyably eccentric. So it’s an insight into enthusiasts’s minds, as well as the subject itself. If I ever win the lottery, one of my dreams is to open a Dog Museum, and situate it on the Isle of Dogs near where I live in London. Isle of Dogs sounds a lot like I Love Dogs so I anticipate lots of merchandising opportunities. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2019, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/67 "2019-08-07T22:18:45Z")
There’s a very tiny [“museum”](https://www.centennialbulb.org/display.htm) under The Centennial Light in Livermore, Ca. Still burning after 118 years. ---
**Author:** ![Bert\_Nobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bert\_Nobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bert_Nobbins)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/68 "2019-08-08T17:24:00Z")
There is the Pianola Museum in Amsterdam. [https://www.pianola.nl/Pianola\_Museum/Welcome.html](https://www.pianola.nl/Pianola_Museum/Welcome.html) A truly fascinating place, looked after by two lovely old people. I was there last year and enjoyed it immensely. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/69 "2019-08-08T18:10:33Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > There’s a very tiny [“museum”](https://www.centennialbulb.org/display.htm) under The Centennial Light in Livermore, Ca. Still burning after 118 years. That reminds me. There’s a tiny museum to Thomas Edison at [Menlo Park](http://www.menloparkmuseum.org). It’s quite good, though, and the docent we had (the only guy there) was very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. ---
**Author:** ![Bert\_Nobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bert\_Nobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bert_Nobbins)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/70 "2019-08-08T18:38:10Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > If I ever win the lottery, one of my dreams is to open a Dog Museum, and situate it on the Isle of Dogs near where I live in London. Isle of Dogs sounds a lot like I Love Dogs so I anticipate lots of merchandising opportunities. Many people have tried that, but they have all been dogged by bad luck. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/71 "2019-08-08T18:42:57Z")
> [@Bert\_Nobbins](#): > > Many people have tried that, but they have all been dogged by bad luck. Good going. You just let the cat out of the bag. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/72 "2019-08-08T20:18:02Z")
The [Neon Museum](https://www.neonmuseum.org/) in Las Vegas, which consists mainly of old neon hotel and casino signs ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/73 "2019-08-13T18:51:14Z")
Just found out there’s a [Museum of Hoaxes](http://hoaxes.org/about) in San Diego. They also have a blog. [Here’s the post](http://hoaxes.org/weblog/comments) for an April Fool’s joke that required a three year delay. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/74 "2019-08-13T20:52:09Z")
Amsterdam (where else?) has both a [Sex Museum and an Erotic Museum](http://www.amsterdam-advisor.com/amsterdam-sex-museum.html). ---
**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 13, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/75 "2019-08-13T21:40:03Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > The [Neon Museum](https://www.neonmuseum.org/) in Las Vegas, which consists mainly of old neon hotel and casino signs I love old neon signs and would totally love to go to that museum. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/76 "2019-08-13T21:44:45Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Two that aren’t too small, but may be obscure enough for the list. My wife and I liked them both: > [The Museum of the Moving Image](http://www.movingimage.us) > [The Newseum.](https://www.newseum.org) > > And, one of my favorites (I’ve been twice) - [EBR-1](https://inl.gov/experimental-breeder-reactor-i/). Newseum is wonderful, with great exhibits about history, culture and communications. Their cafeteria is very good too with an excellent mac & cheese. And a really specialized museum is The Little Prince museum in Hakone, Japan, dedicated to the character in the story by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I was a few blocks away from it but didn’t have time to visit: [http://www.tbs.co.jp/l-prince/en/](http://www.tbs.co.jp/l-prince/en/) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/77 "2019-08-14T00:30:33Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Amsterdam (where else?) has both a [Sex Museum and an Erotic Museum](http://www.amsterdam-advisor.com/amsterdam-sex-museum.html). Hey, I was at the Sex Museum about 25 years ago. My girlfriend and I intended to visit the Van Gogh Museum, but we hadn’t much time and the queue at the entry was a mile long, so we settled for the Sex Museum :D. It was small, but fun. I wonder how much it has changed. My then girlfriend and me finally caught up on the Van Gogh Museum last year. It’s…a tad better 😉 (really, it’s wonderful) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/78 "2019-08-14T00:48:51Z")
markn+ > [@](#): > > Amsterdam (where else?) New York, for one. We have the [Museum of Sex](https://www.museumofsex.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/79 "2019-08-14T15:57:50Z")
I nominate the Styrofoam Cup Museum in White, Georgia. It’s located inside Old Car City, a museum itself which is acres of old cars, that is now a poplular place to take pictures of old cars; when reality it used to be a salvage yard (I think). [https://www.oldcarcityusa.com/](https://www.oldcarcityusa.com/) [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/7921/33263582288_ffc1556df5_b.jpg "Styrofoam Cup Museum") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/dpsager/33263582288/in/photostream/) ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052/80 "2019-08-14T16:43:34Z")
I have visited the Keswick [pencil museum](https://www.derwentart.com/en-gb/c/about/company/derwent-pencil-museum), as a child. I can’t remember much about it, if I’m honest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-museums-as-in-way-too-specialised/838052.md?page=5)