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World’s weirdest museums list includes one Turkish venue
World’s weirdest museums list includes one Turkish venue
CNN Travel has ranked the world’s weirdest museums. The Avanos Hair Museum in Central Anatolia is the only Turkish venue in the list. Click through for the full ranking...
1. Beijing Tap Water Museum, China - This former pipe-house in the center of Beijing has been converted into a museum dedicated to the ins and outs of tap water, including 130 "real objects," models and artifacts such as vintage water coupons dating to the first tap water company in the capital, the Jingshi Tap Water Company. But don't be tempted to quench your thirst after all this tap water reading; Beijing residents have long known that the water coming out of their taps is hardly safe to drink. Photo: chris brignell / Alamy
2. Museum of Bad Art, United States - Most of the displays at the Museum of Bad Art wouldn't make it to your mother's fridge, let alone the Louvre. But here more than 600 pieces, which in other places might inspire polite nods and insincere compliments, have a place to shine. Located "conveniently beside the toilets" in an old basement in Dedham, Massachusetts, the museum accepts only art too bad to ignore. Row after row of misshapen flowers and brightly colored portraits reaffirm that, yes, your five-year-old could probably do that. Photo: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy
3. The Dog Collar Museum, England - Medieval puppies would be rolling in their graves if they witnessed the stylish vests doggies are donning today. Nearly half a million pet lovers rejoice every year in this one-of-a-kind display of dog paraphernalia, surprisingly the only one of its kind found in Great Britain. Dogs have always been a presence at the manor at Leeds Castle gracing the side of Lady Baillie, the last owner of the estate, whose love of dogs inspired the creation of the museum. Photo: Antony SOUTER / Alamy
4. British Lawnmower Museum, England - What some might consider an icon of the worst aspect of suburbia is cherished at the British Lawnmower Museum, which details the history of the push-powered garden tool. Want to see the first solar-powered robot grass-chopper, or the original mower itself, transformed from a contraption used to hem guards' uniforms? This museum is for you. Photo: Nick Higham / Alamy
5. Avanos Hair Museum, Turkey - Explore the world's largest collection of hair gathered from more than 16,000 women. Avanos, a tiny town in central Turkey, has been famous since antiquity for its remarkable earthenware pottery. In recent years, however, the town has gained fame for a more unusual sight: the caves of the bizarre Hair Museum, created by potter Chez Galip. The walls under his studio are covered with the world's largest collection of hair sourced from more than 16,000 women, along with their names and addresses. Locks of every length and color transform everything but the floor in a kind of hairy haven. Photo: Hemis / Alamy
6. Iceland Phallological Museum, Iceland - Get your mind out of the gutter. The Iceland Phallological Museum is the premier institution to learn about the male sex organ, described on its website as "probably the only museum in the world to contain a collection of phallic specimens." There's no pornography, but you can admire 276 penises, from the tiniest hamster member (two millimeters) to the colossal private parts of a sperm whale (1.7 meters). The museum received its first human exhibit from a 95-year-old Icelandic man in 2011. Photo: Eric Brown / Alamy
7. The Bread Museum, Germany - While the Museum of Bread Culture may not be as popular as its sliced namesake, it's certainly an interesting examination of the ends of every sandwich. More than 18,000 exhibits depict everything from the 6,000-year history of bread in works of art (artists include luminaries Salvador Dali, Many Ray and Pablo Picasso) to ancient artifacts of bakeries dating from the Stone Age. Photo: dpa picture alliance / Alamy
8. Celebrity Lingerie Hall of Fame, United States - Frederick's of Hollywood, the store that brought unmentionables such as push-up bras and thong panties to the world, has in its hot-pink art deco flagship display a snapshot of Tinseltown literally under wraps. While the ground floor is devoted to retail, upstairs is a who's who of Hollywood undergarments, from Tom Hanks' boxer shorts in "Forrest Gump" to the undies of the entire cast of "Beverly Hills 90210." Photo: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy
9. Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum, United States - Andrea Ludden's obsession is with salt and pepper shakers. A trained anthropologist, she's writing a definitive study of the condiment dispensers, and displays her collection of more than 22,000 sets of salt and pepper shakers in a building specially arranged for their purpose. The museum recalls small town Americana, with miniature McDonald's menu items, skeletons, penguins, space aliens and endless variations on nearly every type of vegetable. Photo: Pat Canova / Alamy
10. The Kunstkamera, Russia - The Kunstkamera, Russia's first museum. might seem an odd selection for a "weird museum," but even a casual glance at Peter the Great's cabinet of curiosities reveals some bizarre items. The massive collection of more than 200,000 natural and human oddities was originally assembled to dispel the Russian people's belief in monsters, though it's difficult to see how the strange exhibits might have accomplished that. Photo: Elena Odareeva / Alamy
11. International Cryptozoology Museum, United States - The Cryptozoology Museum features full size art sculptures of your favorite monsters. Cryptozoology is the study of unverified animals, mystical creatures only rumored to exist by legend or belief, such as the Yeti or Loch Ness Monster. Photo: Randy Duchaine / Alamy
12. Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum, Japan - This museum honors the creator of the instant ramen noodle, Momofuku Ando -- featured in statue form on a colossal stone cup of his instant meal -- who struggled to create an inexpensive food for the impoverished survivors of World War II. The museum itself is hardly dry and flavorless, with a kitchen where visitors can make their own instant chicken substitute meal in a bowl, a gourmet snack for people who can't really cook for themselves. Hot water is provided. Photo: Wibowo Rusli / Alamy
13. Siriraj Medical Museum (Museum of Death), Thailand - It shouldn't be taken lightly when a museum is colloquially known as the museum of death, and indeed, this museum is not for the weak of spirit. Or stomach. On entry to the Siriraj Medical Museum you're welcomed by the warm rictis grin of the museum founder's skeleton, a rather foreboding sign of the things to come. It's no slasher flick, but it feels like one: hemorrhaged brains, severed and mutilated legs and arms, lungs cut up by deep knife wounds and skulls punctured by bullets demonstrating how bullets ricochet around inside your head. Photo: toby de silva / Alamy
14. Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center, United States - The clowns who joked (and sometimes terrified) America are honored inside, with every one of the fascinating stories behind the inch-thick layer of makeup featured in the world's largest archive of clown artifacts. Photo: Gina Kelly / Alamy
15. Museum of Enduring Beauty, Malaysia - Good hair day? On the third floor of the People's Museum in Malaysia is a monument to the extremes people will go to feel pretty, oh so pretty. The records go back to the very beginnings of human history, revealing some of the outrageous concepts of beauty people will conform to: bound feet, insertion of round disks into their mouths, molding heads into oval shapes and much more. Photo: : Felix Choo / Alamy
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