Visit the World's 15 Wackiest Museums
ABC News takes you on a tour of the world's fifteen strangest museums.
LONDON, July 30, 2009 — -- We all know them, every major city around the world has at least one: museums of art, natural history, and science, but around the world there are also a plentiful crop of somewhat more specific museums. These sometimes wacky attractions capture the imagination as they open our eyes to the secret side of ordinary objects. ABC News has compiled a list of the top 15 that are definitely worth a visit.
Plano, Texas
The brain-child of pest-control expert Michael Bohdan, the Cockroach Hall of Fame is located inside Bohan's store, The Pest Shop, in Plano Texas. The Hall of Fame displays dozens of various types of cockroaches both dead and alive. The highlight is diplays of 'roach art,' made from dead roaches donated by a wide variety of people. One of the most notable pieces was created by an 85-year old lady from Fort Worth, Texas who placed a dead roach next to a tiny piano dressed in a mink cloak. She named him "Liberoachi."
New Delhi, India
Displaying toilets from as far away as Argentina, Luxembourg, Kuwait and Senegal, the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets provides visitors with a unique look at the history of sanitation across the world. The museum aims to not only educate people about "the historical trends in the development of toilets," but also provides help to 'manufacturers of toilet equipment and accessories in improving their products'. Either way, objects in the collection include pre-Victorian chamber pots, ornate royal 'thrones' and the ingenious microwave toilet which used less water in hopes of revolutionizing the experience.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Set in Amsterdam's red-light district, this museum is not for the faint-hearted. The Torture Museum lives up to its name with dark lighting and an entrance that sees visitors begin their experience by journeying down a dark corridor. The exhibit includes a historical tour of various torture methods, primarily focusing on those from medieval times. Devices on display include the Inquisition Chair, the Skull Cracker, the Heretic Fork, various hanging cages and masks, and, of course, the Guillotine.
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