Eccentric exhibitions: Five of the oddest museums in the world
Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Any well-cultured traveler will tell you that if you're looking for educational entertainment in a new city, you need to look no further than the local museums -- but not all museums are filled with dinosaur bones and Egyptian mummies.
If there's one thing we can learn from museums dedicated to disgusting foods, cat figurines, bunny memorabilia, sock monkeys and hangovers, it's this rule: if it exists, there is almost certainly a museum dedicated to it.
With that in mind, UPI Odd News is proud to present this collection of five of the most odd, obscure and outstanding museums in the world.
The Bunny Museum - Altadena, Calif.
Candace Frazee and Steve Lubanski started a tradition of giving each other rabbit-related gifts on their first Valentine's Day as a couple in 1993, and their collection of bunny items now numbers a Guinness World Record-setting 40,550 pieces.
The couple started showing off their bunny memorabilia in 1998, when they opened their Pasadena house to the public as The Bunny Museum, and the collection had grown so large by 2017 that they had to move the museum to its own building in Altadena.
The Bunny Museum is open seven days a week from noon until 6 p.m.
Sock Monkey Museum - Long Grove, Ill.
Arlene and Michael Okun bought their first sock monkey from a Cracker Barrel restaurant in 2006, and they subsequently started scouring estate sales, garage sales and antique stores for the handmade stuffed animals.
The Sock Monkey Museum now has 2,098 sock monkeys on display, earning a Guinness World Records title.
The museum, which includes an interactive exhibit where visitors can make their own sock monkeys, is open from noon until 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
Museum of Hangovers - Zagreb, Croatia
Rino Dubokovic said he was inspired to open a museum dedicated to next-day drinking regrets while sharing stories of drunken misadventures with some friends.
The Museum of Hangovers features exhibits including a collection of unusual items people found after a night of heavy drinking, a "beer goggles" reflex-testing room and an interactive area where visitors can share their own hangover experiences.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. every day of the week.
Redner's Rescued Cat Figurine Mewseum - Menomonee, Wis.
Shawn Redner and Hilary Siegel-Redner said they bought their first dozen second-hand -- or "rescued" -- cat figurines on a whim one day, and their collection has since grown to more than 13,000 figurines from thrift stores, antique malls and, more recently, donations from fans.
Redner said he was looking at his figurine collection one day when he came up with the idea of giving tours of the couple's home and donating the proceeds to local cat rescues, and Redner's Rescued Cat Figurine Mewseum was born.
The mewseum, currently decked out as a "festive feline wonderland," will be open for walk-ins from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Dec. 26, and tours are available by appointment Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. and on the weekends after 11 a.m. with at least 24 hours advance notice.
Disgusting Food Museum - Malmo, Sweden
Samuel West, founder of the Disgusting Food Museum, said the goal of the facility is to encourage visitors to consider what makes some foods seem less appetizing than others, and inspire them to examine their biases and learn that disgusting is a matter of perspective.
The strange and smelly foods featured in the museum include fermented shark meat, bull penis, bird's nest soup, ant larvae, roasted guinea pig and maggot cheese.
The museum is open all week, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
