Could This Be the World's Strangest Museum?
ABC News investigates the world's strangest museums.
LONDON, March 2, 2010 -- Mustard? Cockroaches? Lunchboxes? German sausages? These aren't your typical museums. And yet these wacky attractions not only capture the imagination but make for a very unique day out. ABC News has compiled a list of the top 18 that are worth a visit.
1. The Vacuum Museum
Nottinghamshire, England
This former coal mining town will no longer be known for its dust and grime. Britain's first vacuum museum has opened in Nottinghamshire and is cleaning the air for visitors. James Brown, vacuum enthusiast and curator of the museum, owns 130 vacuums and has 65 of those on display. His collection covers the span of domestic cleaning favorites such as Hoovers, Electroluxes, Kirbys and Dysons. Situated inside Mr. Vacuum Cleaner, Brown's sales and repair shop, the museum is free of charge and shows the historical timeline of pre-war domestic hygiene to modern-day cleaning.
Istanbul, Turkey
E.T. phone home! More like E.T. phone Turkey. Located in the historical city of Istanbul, the International UFO Museum displays artifacts suggesting extraterrestrial life. Founded by Sirius UFO Space Sciences Research Center, the museum offers bits of UFO history, such as a display about the 1947 Roswell, N.M., incident, a worldwide sighting map, soldier and pilot reports, animations of archaeological ruins and statues. This museum is the perfect go-to for those suspecting life beyond our atmosphere.
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Holzhausen, Germany
The German Bratwurst Museum is the first of its kind in Germany. Providing visitors with everything they might want to know about the sausage-making process, the museum displays machinery and equipment. Visitors can also learn about the history of this iconic food, including that the first mention of bratwurst occurred in 1404. The museum also boasts a model of a traditional German festival, which is synonymous with the bratwurst. And to pay real homage to the bratwurst, the museum also houses a collection of other bratwurst memorabilia.
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 displays 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.
