These museums take quirky to a whole new level with galleries devoted to everything from vintage candy dispensers to everyone’s second favorite condiment.
Among the collection of vintage Pez dispensers, the world's largest Pez-dispensing machine resides at the Burlingame Pez Museum. The San Francisco Bay area museum also has an online store offering Pez dispensers of all kinds for candy enthusiasts to begin their own collection at home.
Southern Food & Beverage Museum
Dedicated to documenting the culinary history of the American South, the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans showcases exhibits on Louisiana’s multilayered cuisine, the importance of sugarcane in the South's growth and the art of barbecue, among others.
The International UFO Museum and Research Center
The International UFO Museum and Research Center is located in -- where else? -- Roswell, NM. With an extensive research library open to anyone looking to learn all they can about UFOs, the museum’s mission is to educate the public on UFOs.
Museum of Sex
The Museum of Sex, or MoSex, is definitely Fifth Avenue’s most … innovative establishment. Opened in New York City in 2002, the museum has drawn visitors from all over the world seeking an open discourse on sexuality -- and the museum's collection of sex-related art, photography, costumes, inventions and historical artifacts does not disappoint.
Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum
The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum in Japan is sure to inspire nostalgia for your good ole college days. With exhibits on ramen history and a replica of a section of Toyko in 1958 -- the year instant noodles were invented -- the museum makes it difficult to leave without craving the noodle dish. Thank goodness there's a ramen food court at the museum, too.
Museum of Bad Art
The Museum of Bad Art, or MOBA, prides itself on collecting and preserving art that’s "too bad to be ignored." Art is subjective, you say? A visit to one of the museum's 3 Boston-area galleries should change your mind.
Giant Shoe Museum
Seattle's Giant Shoe Museum started out as a place to display one man's collection of novelty shoes. But when the museum acquired the world's tallest man's shoe, it became what it is today -- a photo op for tourists wondering just how tall the world's tallest man was.
Sulabh International Museum of Toilets
Dedicated to educating the public on the history of toilets and helping toilet manufacturers improve their skills by showing them the mistakes of the past, the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets is on a sanitation crusade. Don’t worry if you can't make it to New Delhi to visit this unique repository of toilets -- the entire museum is online.
The Collection of Questionable Medical Devices
The Science Museum of Minnesota's collection of Questionable Medical Devices includes a Psychograph. Invented by a Wisconsin man named Henry Lavery in the 1930s, the Psychograph was designed to read the bumps on a patient's head, measuring the strength of their personality traits. The Psychograph would generate a report, ranking the patient's talents and personality characteristics, based on the size and shape of their skull.
The Fan Museum
Dedicated not only to fans, but also to fan-making, the Fan Museum in London is one-of-a-kind place located within the World Heritage Site of Maritime Greenwich. The museum features a collection of more than 3,500 fans dating back to the 11th century, as well as an orangery, or an 18th-century greenhouse, where afternoon tea is served each Tuesday and Sunday.
National Mustard Museum
Middleton, WI, is the proud home of the National Mustard Museum, free to the public and filled with more than 5,400 kinds of everyone's second favorite condiment: mustard. Every Aug. 4, also known as National Mustard Day, the streets of downtown Middleton come alive with free hot dogs, mustard custard and condiment mascots.
Kansas Barbed Wire Museum
An entire museum is devoted to the "devil's rope" in the barbed wire capital of the world: La Crosse, KS. The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum celebrates the invention that tamed the West, according to the museum’s founders. Displays demonstrate barbed wire's significance during warfare and in keeping cattle and bison from roaming freely.
Chicken Art Museum
Chickens are an important symbol in Korean culture -- they're thought to act as messengers between heaven and earth, exorcise evil spirits and bring prosperity. So it comes as no surprise that there’s a museum in Seoul, South Korea, devoted to chicken-inspired art. The Chicken Art Museum features chicken sculptures and paintings from cultures worldwide.
