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10 Strange and Bizarre American Museums |
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The top 10 of BizarreIf you like to visit museums, especially when it’s raining, you are on a trip/vacation and you don’t want to lose a day doing nothing. Adding to that, if you have probably visited a few of the major museums of North America and Europe, the ones that features world class exhibits. You might be attracted by theme museums, like natural history, science and technology, marine, rail and aviation museums. But noe are you ready for something different? What about strange and bizarre museums? The kind you’ll gladly drive the extra miles to visit and have your picture taken… not to mention the cup and/or T-shirt you’ll bring back home. We found museums dedicated to subjects you’d never dream could exist. Have a look, you might find something that falls into your alley… next time you ventures into unusual America. |
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Witchcraft museum, Salem MaIf you’re curious about what really happened back there in 1692 and you happen to be in the area, why not stop for a spell. The museum is located in 16 miles north of Boston. For the past four decades, the museum has told the true story behind the Salem witch trials of 1692 and provided context for understanding the phenomenon of "witch hunts" and witchcraft in general from the Middle Ages to modern times. And finding a parking stop can be kind of tricky. There is also a cool gift shop. |
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Museum of Bad Art, Dedham MassachusettsIf you’re driving near Dedham, 20 miles south of Boston and you're curious about what Bad Art at its best means ? You have to see their exhibition, it sucks, big time... or does it ? This is the only museum in the world that is dedicated to the collection, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms. People actually rave about the place for a reason, once you have been there you’ll never wonder again if a piece is actually good or bad… you’ll know for sure. It features the work of talented artists whom had obviously a bad day (or week) and it also displays the work of very enthusiastic but not that talented artists. What they all have in common is a certain “Je ne sais quoi” that sets them apart from the merely incompetent. The MOBA as three location. |
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Sing Sing prison, Ossining, NYAn hour up river from the Big Apple, you’ll find the Big house. Sing Sing prison opened its door in 1826 and it has since been renovated several times. The museum is located at a safe distance from the prison itself; it presents a sober picture of life in the famous jail. Displays include confiscated weapons, historical photos. Two Sing Sing cells are also on display, in all their gray and army barracks green glory, one of which you can have your picture taken in, the other closed and furnished with a pin-up calendar. The museum also has an electric chair, a replica of Sing Sing's original. 614 men and women used it to gain access to the afterlife. Among those; the lonely earth killers, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez, the atom spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, serial killer/cannibal Albert Fish, Father Schmidt (a priest.. but a bad one) and the last to go but not the least Eddie Lee Mays got fried in 1963. |
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Spy Museum, Washington DC.Among the exhibit we have Covers and Legends: How to acquire and maintain a cover, want to try? They’ll let you try, are you good? Schools for spies, let you discovers lots of gadgets and technologies. The Secret History of History, everything from the Trojan War to ninjas to the American Civil War Spies among us, is the stuff movies are made of. War of the spies; is the cold war seen in retrospect. 21st century, introduce us to the new spy game and Weapons of mass disruption shows us the high tech and the new targets. |
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Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum Farmington Hills, MichMarvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum is located 26 miles North West of Detroit. It’s a wonderland packed with coin operated machines like pinball (Every decade represented), arcade games, old gypsy fortune-telling machine from a century ago and you can drop a quarter and play them, they all work. Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum is home to thousands of mechanical oddities. All have to be seen to be believed, trust me on this one and of course you can buy a T-shirt that will have your friends go… What the…? Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum |
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Circus World, Baraboo, WisconsinThe Circus World Museum is located 43 miles north of Madison, WI. It uses to be the original Ringling Bros. Circus winter quarters. Some building dating back 1897 through 1918 and are the largest surviving group of original circus structures in North America. It preserves the heritage of the traveling circus with an impressive collection of memorabilia, props, posters and painted circus wagons. There is an impressive collection of vintage circus wagons. There are shows (during the season); rides, circus performances and they have circus animals. Circus World |
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Museum of Questionable Medical Devices, St Paul, MinnesotaThe museum is located in the Science Museum of Minnesota in St Paul and it also goes by the name of the Museum of Quackery. It offers a collection of truly bizarre medical devices that have been sold to the public over the years. The founder Bob McCoy (now deceased) built an impressive collection of items that will startle you, to say the least. The museum has the world's largest display of what the human mind has devised to cure itself without the benefit of either scientific method or common sense. It comprised the major collections on loan from major museums. |
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Vent Haven Ventriloquist Museum, Fort Mitchell, KentuckyThe museum is located across the river from Cincinnati, OH. It is the legacy of W.S. Berger, a businessman who fell in love with ventriloquism more than a century ago. W. S. bought his first ventriloquist figure, Tommy Baloney back in 1910 and his fabulous collection had just begun. If you find ventriloquist dolls creepy? You have to visit the Vent Haven Museum, in Kentucky. You’ll find 500 dummies staring at you, it brings backs buried memories of movies that had scarred you as a kid. Vent Haven also hosts and sponsors an annual ventriloquist convention, if you are into the thing. |
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Atomic testing museum, Las VegasYou’re in Vegas and you decide to go to a museum, that’s already strange. Las Vegas has many museums, but none of them is exactly conventional, but this one is of the eerie type. From the origin of the Manhattan project, to the cold war learn about the Nevada testing facility and everything about the Atomic culture of the 50s. There is Atomic paraphernalia like Geiger counters ranging from the 40s to the present. There is an Atomic theatre that shows nuclear blasts as seen from the safety of a bunker. You’ll see dummies wearing JC Penney garments that were tested to know their resistance to radioactivity. The clothes did fine, those wearing them died... that’s life I guess! Anyway remember this, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Atomic testing museum |
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International UFO Museum & Research Center, Roswell, N.M.The museum is not located across the street, the closest major centers been Santa Fe (191 miles to the North) and El Paso (205 miles to the South). But, you want strange? A UFO museum located in Roswell fits the bill. It gets better when you realize the museum is located in the old Plains Theater on North Main in Roswell. The exhibits orbits around the July 8, 1947 incident. That same incident has been called the greatest cover up in history (one of many actually). When you enter you are greeted by aliens (from outer space). You can see a worldwide sightings map, it represent only those sighting from the current month… and there are a lot of them, there is also a timeline of the events and at last but not the least an Art gallery. The museum is operated by people dedicated to spreading the truth about what really happened then and the fact that aliens are… you make your own determination, Ok! There is an interesting gift shop and you should know... everybody in Roswell is trying to cash in on the UFO phenomena. International UFO Museum & Research |
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