A day out at the museum is always an enjoyable experience. No matter how much you know about a subject, there’s always something new to find out. Art museums and those housing important historical artifacts are always a popular choice, but there are so many strange museums out there that deserve your attention.
We’ve collated the ultimate guide to the most bizarre, unsettling, or just plain weird museums in the world. So, if you’re looking for a whacky holiday destination with a difference, then you can start planning here.
Sulabh International Museum of Toilets, New Delhi, India
It only makes sense to start things off with a bit of toilet humor and there’s perhaps no better place on Earth for that than the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets. Founded by an expert in all things toilets, Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak devoted his life to showing the world all about how the toilet has evolved.
The museum is split into three time periods: ancient, medieval, and modern. You’ll be able to find toilets from as far back as 3000 BC that were uncovered in Pakistan, as well as some of the last remaining examples of medieval Austrian hand-painted toilet bowls.
Finally, in the modern section, you’ll be left truly gobsmacked at the hi-tech toilets of the future. Japan and Korea certainly lead the way with their ultra-modern loos, complete with more bells and whistles than most people have in their entire houses.
The Lawnmower Museum, Southport, UK
Whilst there’s more to Southport than just the lawnmower museum, that’s what we’re here for today. This homage to all things lawnscaping is a truly bizarre museum, but one that’s worth making a special trip for. So many of us take this simple tool for granted, but it genuinely revolutionized how we look after a lawn.
In fact, before the lawnmower, many of us wouldn’t have had a lawn as cutting by hand would have taken too long. The lawnmower museum has all kinds of curiosities, from lawnmowers owned by the royal family, to solar-powered lawnmowers and teeny-tiny ones too.
You’ll, of course, see an homage to the world’s most expensive lawnmower and, to be honest, every lawnmower you could possibly think of. It’s nice, but it makes for an interesting afternoon looking into something that most of us take for granted.
The Big Mac Museum, Pennsylvania, USA
Top of our list of places to visit in the USA is definitely the Big Mac Museum in Pennsylvania. There’s sometimes a hunger that only a trip to McDonald’s will fix and Jim Delligatti, founder of the museum, knows this only too well. Jim was the first franchisee to open a McDonald’s restaurant in Western Pennsylvania and it would be fair to say that that decision changed his life.
Jim was responsible for creating the Big Mac! He sold his first Big Mac in 1967 and the burger is still going strong in 2023. Inside the museum, you’ll find an absolute ton of McDonald’s memorabilia, including the largest Big Mac in the world. Sadly, this one is plastic so you won’t be able to take a bite out of it, but there’s plenty of opportunity for munching along the way.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum, Masumi-cho, Japan
Finally, if you’re not a Big Mac fan then perhaps your cheat meal of choice is a bowl of steaming ramen. Instant noodles are a staple of everyone’s cupboard at one point or another and the Instant Ramen Museum makes sure that people respect them for the life-giving goodness that they bring.
As well as a kitchen where visitors can make their own ramen noodles in a variety of different flavours and alongside a god-tier selection of toppings, there’s also the opportunity to create your own personalized ramen packet. You’ll be able to browse through the entire catalog of every single Nissin instant noodle flavor that ever existed and generally bask in the noodle-y goodness of this special place.
