ECCENTRIC PLACES OF CULTURE

Have You Ever Heard About These Weird Museums? Read On And Find Out!

Image: Andrew Neel

While museums are truly elevated keepers of timeless art and superb culture, we can all probably agree that they can sometimes be a bit stuffy. We have all felt moved by a particularly majestic piece of art, but sometimes we just want to engage our wacky sides. Sometimes you walk into a museum not looking to contemplate the truth about human nature: you are just looking to have some fun.

Don’t worry, we got you covered! We have gathered ten iconic museums from around the world that showcase and study unconventional subjects, and truly find beauty in common, unusual, and downright zany items.

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In the world of soft drinks, few sodas have a history as rich and interesting as Dr. Pepper. The tale of this beverage, invented by pharmacist Charles Alderton in 1885, is filled with fun facts and details that will surely surprise you. But don’t take our word for it: if you ever find yourself in Waco, Texas, take the time to visit the Dr. Pepper Museum and learn all about one of America’s favorite drinks.

The museum is housed in the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company. This 100-year building is commonly known as "The Home of Dr. Pepper", since it was the first building specifically built to bottle the soft drink. Besides numerous exhibitions detailing the history of Dr. Pepper, it also allows visitors to create and bottle their own soda.

Image: Lars Blankers

Potatoes are truly the "jack of all trades" of vegetables. There are so many different ways to enjoy a potato: you can bake them, fry them, mash them, turn them into delicious French fries, or turn them into a nurturing and comforting potato soup. With so many ways to eat this beloved vegetable, is it any wonder that many countries around the world have decided to honor our "spudtacular" friends with various potato museums?

Considering the number of potato museums around, we have selected a few of our favorite locations. Belgium’s Frietmuseum is entirely dedicated to French fries, and is housed in a beautiful 1399 building. The Canadian Potato Museum is home to "the Potato Hall of Fame" and proudly displays a 14-foot high fiberglass potato in its entrance. Here in the United States, you might want to visit the Idaho Potato Museum in the city of Blackfoot, which houses the largest potato chip, measuring 25 inches.

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Approximately 30 years ago, antique dealer Scott Wilson was walking down the streets of Boston when he came across a painting protruding between two trash cans. Interested only in the frame, Wilson originally intended to throw away the arguably bad painting, titled "Lucy in the Field with Flowers". However, both he and his wife found themselves captivated by the piece, and sought to acquire and exhibit other equally objectionable pieces. And thus, the Museum of Bad Art was born.

MOBA’s mission is "to celebrate the labor of artists whose work would be displayed and appreciated in no other forum", and has been doing so since 1993. Their collection includes 700 pieces of "bad" art, curated through a severely rigorous process: to be included in the museum, a piece must have serious intent, but exhibit significant flaws. Deliberately bad or kitsch art is not displayed.

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Instant noodles might be the main source of nourishment for millions of college students across the world: affordable, easy to make, and easily consumable during an all-night study marathon. In case you want to pay your respects, the man to thank for this miraculous invention is Japanese businessman Momofuku Ando, who created instant noodles in 1958, and whose life is remembered by Japan’s Cup Noodles Museums.

These museums are located in Yokohama and in the city of Ikeda, Osaka, where the first instant noodles were created. Both locations heavily feature visitor interaction, encouraging tasting and having fun with different kinds of noodles. Ando’s entire life story is told in detail, including his first experiments in the 50s, and the "space ramen" he designed in 2005 to be consumed in outer space.

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Have you ever dived underwater to visit a museum? You definitively will have to in order to see the amazing pieces of art that the Underwater Museum has to offer. Located in Mexico, this museum features 500 sculptures exhibited deep in the ocean at the Cancun National Marine Park.

Curiously, this museum was started in an effort to preserve natural coral reefs from damage produced by tourist divers. Dr. Jaime González Cano came up with the idea of creating an artificial coral reef as a way to drive away massive diving from the reefs. This idea later evolved into the artwork the museum showcases: diverse submarine sculptures and statues, including a famous 400-piece installation called The Silent Evolution.

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You don’t have to wear an inconspicuous raincoat or deliver codes on a park bench to visit this museum, but it helps. Located in the heart of Washington D.C., the International Spy Museum focuses on the history of espionage, dating as back as the Ancient Greeks and the Roman Empire.

Visitors entering the International Spy Museum must first go through a "Briefing Center", on which they are assigned a mission that helps them get into the mind of an international spy. The museum proudly holds the largest collection of international spy objects, including an Enigma Machine and a coat with a button camera designed by the KGB.

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We know that Fox Mulder from "The X-Files" would have been at the entrance of the International Cryptozoology Museum on opening day, excitedly waiting with his ticket in his hand. Located in Portland, Maine, this museum focuses on the field of cryptozoology, the study of hidden or unknown creatures and animals. It features an unparalleled collection of objects related to famous cryptids, such as Bigfoot or the Yeti.

The museum was opened in 2003 by Lore Coleman, one of the most prominent experts in cryptozoology. Its main exhibit is a 5.5-foot-long, life-size model of a coelacanth, an ancient fish first discovered in 1938.

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Are you a cat person? You are definitively not alone: cats tend to find a way to snuggle and purr into the hearts of the grumpiest of owners. If you ever happen to find yourself looking for new ways to express your love for our feline friends, you might want to pay a visit to Kattenkabinet, a museum in Amsterdam entirely dedicated to artworks depicting cats.

This museum’s collection includes artwork from big names in art history, such as Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt. It was founded by Bob Meijer in 1990, to honor the memory of his beloved tomcat John Pierpont Morgan. Fun fact: the 2004 heist film "Ocean’s 12" used the Kattenkabinet as a filming location.

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Even if they are amicable, the end of most relationships is followed by a sad time, filled with comfort food and listening to sad, romantic songs. However, most relationships end for the better, and, after a brief mournful period, people realize that the future holds great things. In the case of Croatian artists Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić, what came after the end of their four-year relationship was the opening of the Museum of Broken Relationships, in the city of Zagreb.

The idea behind the museum was to showcase different breakups and heartaches: Consequently, its collection is composed of seemingly common objects that tell the stories of different couples. The museum is considered by many to be a place to heal, and to learn how to move on from failed relationships.

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If you are looking for a place to open up a UFO museum, chances are that you’ll look to open it in Roswell, New Mexico: After all, this city was the site of the most famous UFO sighting in history. However, should you visit the International UFO Museum and Research Center in downtown Roswell, you’ll find carefully curated exhibitions that delve into hundreds of UFO sightings around the world.

Founded in 1991, the museum seeks not to convince people of the existence of alien life forms, but rather to encourage them to ask questions and conduct research on their own. It showcases documentaries, pictures of encounters, and, of course, heavily features the 1947 Roswell crash that made this New Mexico city the heart of extraterrestrial enthusiasts.

CURSED CINEMA

10 Scary Movies That Were Allegedly Haunted

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When the spooks aren't limited to what happens inside the silver screen but also extend to the filming set and the actors' personal lives, it's hard to stay cool and rational. No matter if you believe in the supernatural or not, some of these terrifying stories will make your hair stand on end.

Join us in this macabre tour through 10 classic movies that were (supposedly) haunted by terrible curses or strange paranormal entities.

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Much like the movie itself, Roman Polanski's timeless horror classic is shrouded in mystery and tragedy. One of the producers had a near-death experience during which he claimed to see the main character approaching him with a knife.

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William Friedkin's horror masterpiece reportedly faced a series of eerie incidents during filming, including a fire that destroyed most of the set but somehow left intact the bedroom of the possessed Regan. Some of the cast believed that the movie's subject matter - exorcizing a demon - invoked a real curse, and they ended up bringing a priest to bless the set.

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This supernatural thriller of the eighties is infamous for its alleged curse, with several cast members meeting untimely ends. Among various unusual mishaps during filming, one of the child actors was choked by a creepy mechanical doll that malfunctioned, and shortly after filming the third installment, she tragically passed away at just 12 years old.

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While Ghost might not exactly fit within the horror genre, an urban legend claims that the ghost of Poltergeist's child star Heather O'Rourke haunted the set. The filming team heard someone running up on the empty catwalks and a child's laughter on numerous occasions. Coincidentally, the movie was filmed on the same set where O'Rourke had previously filmed episodes of the popular sitcom Happy Days.

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Hospitals are always a bit scary. And during the shooting of the 2010 supernatural horror film Insidious, strange things seemed to happen in the hospital set. Several members of the cast and crew claimed to feel unwell immediately upon setting foot on the set, and some even claimed to hear a buzzer from an unoccupied floor repeatedly going off.

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A bone-chilling experience all by itself, The Conjuring gets even creepier when you learn about the many eerie things that took place behind the scenes. Vera Farmiga, who plays paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the film, felt terribly uncomfortable during filming, to the point where she started leaving the script outside of her house. Among many other strange events, despite not doing any stunts, she and other members of the cast repeatedly found themselves covered in inexplicable bruises.

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The true story behind The Exorcism of Emily Rose is already terrifying without adding any behind-the-scenes elements, but according to various sources, the film set was also haunted by a supernatural entity. According to both actress Jennifer Carpenter - who played the titular Emily Rose - and the film’s director Scott Derrickson, at several points during filming, they experienced inexplicable phenomena. Among other things, TVs and radios would mysteriously turn on by themselves at random times, and music would start playing loudly.

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Inspired by the tale of a haunted dybbuk box, this supernatural horror film tells the story of a family terrorized by a malevolent entity. But besides the eerie premise and intense performances that likely left some cast and crew members feeling uneasy, strange occurrences also plagued the set. The film's lead actor, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, has stated that he didn't believe in ghosts before the movie. However, during filming, he experienced events that convinced him of the reality of supernatural phenomena. To make things weirder, the possessed box featured in the film was later destroyed in a mysterious storage facility fire.

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Another outlier in this list, though Return to Babylon was never intended as a horror movie of any kind, ended up having a reputation for being cursed. The indie film explores the scandals and tragedies of Hollywood's silent film era, delving into the lives of iconic stars like Clara Bow and Rudolph Valentino. Soon after filming, rumors of on-set mishaps and strange occurrences have circulated, including claims of actors' faces morphing into demonic shapes in certain shots, and apparitions of dead actors. In particular, actress Jennifer Tilly described feeling watched and touched by invisible forces during production.

Image: Aimee Vogelsang

A spin-off of The Conjuring franchise, Annabelle follows the haunting of a possessed doll wreaking havoc on unsuspecting victims. John R. Leonetti, the movie’s director, claimed to have seen "three fingers drawn through dust" multiple times on set. This would be strange enough by itself, but there is more: the creepy doll featured in the film has only three fingers. Also, an actor dressed up as a demon was almost killed by a light fixture falling on his head in the same place on the set where a murder would take place later, according to the script.