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BlackPhx -> Museums of some interest perhaps? (3/27/2008 1:47:04 PM)
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I will admit it, I have a morbid sense of humor and curiousity, much more so than Master has I suspect, Here are a few museums that have caught my attention and I wanna go to:
Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments: Prague, Czech Republic
Ah, the Middle Ages, when a slip of the tongue could spiral hilariously into the accused being slowly disemboweled in the public square. Prague's Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments is dedicated to depicting the means by which confessions were extracted from alleged heretics.
The visitor can cast his gaze over more than 60 morbid torture devices in a tour that takes about 45 minutes. There's even a useful tutorial on how to operate each machine (English language descriptions included). Our favorite? The Head Crusher: The chin of the accused is placed on a wooden support, a helmet is attached snugly to his head, a crank is turned and ... well, we'll let you imagine the rest. Admission: about $12.
Three sex museums: Amsterdam, Netherlands; Paris, France; Husavik, Iceland
No European city is really complete without a museum dedicated to amorous predilection. We've selected three of particular note — a menage a trois, if you will — dedicated to the ars erotica.
The Louvre? Been there, done that. On your next trip to Paris, why not visit the Musee de l'Erotisme? Housed in a seven-story building in Quartier Pigalle — an area known for its sex shops, Moulin Rouge and back-alley tarts — the museum displays an impressive collection of erotic bric-a-brac from around the world. Offerings include South American and Asian fertility objects, displays on the history of Parisian prostitution, and rotating exhibits of modern erotic art. Admission: about $12, or $8 with advance online reservations.
Amsterdam's sex museum, or Venustempel, the world's oldest of its kind, is visited by roughly half a million titillated tourists a year, who peruse its large stash of erotica. Pieces include paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, recordings, contraptions and even private interactive viewing booths. Admission: about $5.
The Icelandic Phallological Museum, located in the small fishing village of Husavik, is a bit more specific in its focus. Housing roughly 250 phallic specimens, the museum is said to contain examples from every mammal in Iceland, many of them mounted on the walls, others in glass jars. Admission: about $7.50.
Ok this one is a bit much for many but it has my interest peaked.
The Mutter Museum: Philadelphia, Pa.
Staring open-mouthed at a stranger's physical oddities is usually considered rather rude, but at the Mutter Museum, unabashed staring is encouraged — nay, demanded. How could you avert your gaze from an obese corpse that somehow turned into soap?
The Philadelphia museum exhibits some 20,000 objects showcasing human health anomalies of spine-tingling variety. With unblinking eyes, you can peruse the display of 2,000 objects removed from people's throats or put your face up against the glass to see President Grover Cleveland's cancerous jaw growth. And don't miss the skeleton of a woman long accustomed to wearing a corset; the suffocating apparatus slowly altered the bone structure of her ribcage, all in the name of culturally defined beauty. (You'll never complain about underwire again!) But these odd offerings are no mere gimcrack. Collectively they seem to communicate a message of medical
progress. Admission: $12, with discounts for students and seniors. Children under 6 are free.
As does this one:
Glore Psychiatric Museum: St. Joseph, Mo.
About an hour's drive from Kansas City, the Glore Psychiatric Museum documents the history of "State Lunatic Asylum No. 2" (only just closed in the mid 1990's). The holdings are contained in a separate, modern building, as the original asylum is now serving as a prison.
Some of the devices used to treat the insane are reminiscent of a torture museum — like a tranquilizer chair and blood-letting blades. And in a clear attempt to one-up the Mutter Museum, Glore showcases 1,446 objects of digestive intrigue — paper clips, nails, safety pins, buttons — removed from one patient's stomach and intestines in 1929 (she died on the operating table). The second floor of the building displays art created by the inmates. Admission: $3.50, with discounts for children. The price includes admission to two other local museums.
poenkitten (who would have fit right in with the Addams family (the original pen and ink cartoons not the TV series)
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