Five unusual museums that defy belief
Museums can be really boring. There’s a dinosaur, here’s a rock. Wow. To combat those assumptions, here are five very real and very different museums from around the world that are anything but boring. The Inti Nan Solar Museum: Ever wondered which way water spins down the drain when you’re on the equator? Visit the Inti Nan Solar Museum in Ecuador to find out. Also, balance an egg on a nail — it’s only possible on the equator — and see a bunch of shrunken heads. I’m not sure how they fit it all in. The Creation Museum: Did God create the world in six days only 6,000 years ago? According to this museum, he did. See exhibits where humans run with dinosaurs, and be bowled over by information that makes no logical sense.
The Museum of Eroticism
Five floors of ‘arty’ erotica with examples of ancient religious art from around the world, all the way to the contemporary. from the collections of antique dealer, Alain Plumey, and French teacher, Jo Khalifa. No prizes for guessing that this museum is in Paris.
The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices
Includes the prostate gland warmer, recto rotor, and nose straightener, among hundreds of other weird devices. I suppose the most terrifying aspect of all this is that people were once stupid and desperate enough to believe that this stuff would actually work.
The Coca Museum
This little gem of a museum, located in the Bolivian capital of La Paz, runs through the history of the coca leaf and explains just how it’s turned into cocaine. Just in case you’re interested. The leaf itself is quite good for you in moderation, by the way. It’s the nasty chemicals and outrageous price that make it so harmful to your body. And your wallet.
Tagged: interesting museums, Inti Nan Solar Museum, The Coca Museum, The Creation Museum, The Museum of Eroticism, The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices, unusual museums
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Also by XAVIER TOBY
Black Dynamite blaxploitation movie trailer
One very angry and unstoppable man wages war against drugs and malt liquor. A take-off of the old blaxploitation films, this is parody at its best, with many knowing nods to camera and hilarious moments involving clichés taken to their extremes. There’s the Asian kung-fu master, pimps and orphans hooked on heroin. It all begins with Black Dynamite being spurned on his quest for blood after his brother’s brutal murder, and then pushed further for the love of a good woman. There are hoes and guns, along with catchphrases and great one-liners. See it.
Defamation documentary trailer
Does Israel use the Holocaust as an excuse for their continued issues with the Palestine people? According to this film, yes. Are people who criticise Israel’s foreign policy often unfairly labelled anti-Semitic? Again, yes according to this brilliant documentary made by an Israeli-Jew. Instead of passing judgment himself, filmmaker Yoav Shamir is smart enough to put himself and his camera in the right places, surrounded by the right people, and let the people damn themselves. Read more
In The Loop, a darker Yes Minister for modern times
A less clever but much blacker version of Yes Minister, this political comedy farce does excel when it comes to insults. The communication director in the British Government reels off some of the best combinations of expletives I’ve heard in quite a while, and later in the film is equalled by American foes. In terms of content, In The Loop tells of a rush to war in the Middle East and how easily a UN resolution can be manipulated on the back of manipulated information. In a blur of meetings and arguments, educated opinions or arguments are rare and only seem to happen in passing, and this movie presents a terrifying vision of politics. I much prefer The West Wing and its clever, hard-working politicians. Considering the stupidity of Bush and co, however, this piece is probably much closer to the mark.
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lily said | 3 June, 2009
Having been to the Inti Nan Solar Museum myself, I can testify that it is one hell of a good time. They even give you a little banana to eat after they teach you how to use a blow gun. It’s especially refreshing after the huge disappointment that the official monument to the equator brings. It’s the same sort of fun you have at a small county fair in the U.S., with a slightly morbid twist that is oh so Ecuadorian. So, shake off your hipster irony addition, and just enjoy yourself. Que disfrutas!
HAVE YOUR SAY
Sculptor George W. Hart recently made a geometric piece out of identical, laser-cut wood pieces called Frabjous, taken from Lewis Carroll’s poem, The Jaberwocky. Hart provides a PDF of the template he used to cut the pieces, which you can use to make your own.
Oh, ok. The Church’s eerily translucent Under The Milky Way has just burst into my headphones like a thousand jolts of sweet pop lightening. It’s nice to know that wistful introspection is only ever but three chords and a melancholic chorus away.
Riffing on the idea that ‘eating was tending toward breathing’, Harvard professor David Edwards, in conjunction with design studio Le Laboratoire, has created Le Whif, the breathable chocolate. No chewing, no calories, and it comes in mint, rasberry, mango, and plain chocolate flavors. The product may just be a fancy scratch-and-sniff sticker, but it looks so sleek and design-y.
Summertime at McCarren Park in Williamsburg is picturesque. It’s often filled with a mix of people, old and young, picnicking or sitting in the shade, running along the track or playing soccer (or football, depending on where you’re from). It’s also connected to a now defunct McCarren (swimming) pool which transforms into an outdoor concert space on Sundays during the summer. In the past, performers such as Leslie Feist, M.I.A., The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Broken Social Scene have performed. Read more
Sometimes we need an ad to remind us of what’s important. Normal is beautiful. Keep our oceans alive. Vote. Be more fearless. The Whitehouse Post is an international post-production company whose projects are damn fine. In fact, they are the scary mix of wit and aesthetics that makes any message convincing. Long live Coca-Cola.
Yes, Karen O wears it. And we don’t blame her. Launched by make-up artist, Mike Potter, Knock Out Cosmetics nail polish is a little Victorian, a touch art deco, and a lot of rock n’ roll.
Our friends over at the street art and design site, Feed Me Cool Shit have a revealing interview up with UK artist Sickboy, who talks about his earliest days on the streets. Read more
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Almanac Market in Philadelphia is slightly pricey, but you definitely get what you pay for. Offering fantastic bread, cheeses, produce, and cured meats such as sopressata and pepperoni, it was a great pit stop when my band played in town, and definitely more economical and tasty than hitting a greasy spoon for road snacks.
T-post: the world’s first wearable magazine
So here’s the scoop. Every six weeks, T-post subscribers get a new t shirt issue in the mail, with a news story on the inside and an artist interpretation of that story on the front. Yes, we agree. It’s clever, clever. Read more
With the recession still biting, it may be time to whip out the glue and the cardboard and make your next pair of cool kicks. Don’t know how they’d manage in the rain though? Read more
Hong Kong-based illustrator Man-Tsun draws dark and beautiful painterly images that look like they are straight off a high-end Japanese animated film. Read more
I live the upbeat, feel good tempo of the new single — A Hundred Hearts — from Philly group, The Swimmers. Off their latest album, People Are Soft, this song is a strangely fitting anthem for the blustery day outside.
Wolfmother. Rock n roll. Mystical lyrics. Heavy riffs. They have a new album out, Cosmic Egg, and we have five copies to giveaway, along with their debut album. To enter, tell us your favorite Wolfmother song and the city you live in. Yo! Two fingered salute. Read more
The knuckle sandwich charm necklace by This Charming Man features two pieces of bread on either side of a tiny set of brass knuckle dusters. Rad huh? Get yours now for $140. Read more
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francis said | 29 May, 2009
i came across a little museum in a town near the Guatemala/Mexico border that had a fine display of random twigs, coins, rocks, lego reconstructions and…. baby foetuses in jars. didn’t help to settle the lively stomach i had at the time