Nate
We live in a bizarre world, and no one knows this better than Dr. Chelsea Nichols. She’s the mastermind behind the Instagram-based Museum for Ridiculously Interesting Things.
Now, just because it’s an imaginary institution run by one person online, doesn’t mean they haven’t unearthed some of the most fascinating tidbits and artifacts that will blow your mind. Think of it as a treasure trove of the weird and wonderful, but without the actual building or pesky admission fees.
Scroll down to peek at the gallery below. Fair warning: prepare to have your socks knocked off. Disappointment is as rare here as a dull day in Dr. Nichols’ world.
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1. “Gilt-Bronze Bat Chandelier Made Around 1910 By Swedish Lamp Company Böhlmarks. My Favourite Detail Is The Pendant Lights That Are Enclosed By Little Furled Bats Hanging Upside Down”
2. “Amazing Illustrations From A C.1720 Japanese Medical Book On Smallpox, Which Cleverly Uses Paper Embossing To Show The Changing Texture Of Smallpox Lesions During Different Stages Of The Disease”
3. “Gold Spider Earrings, 300 Bc To 100 Bc, From The Bactrian Region In Modern Day Afghanistan”
4. “Black Cat Paper Fan Made In Germany In The 1920s. I Know This Was Intended As A Novelty Halloween Accessory, But I Can Think Of At Least Six Of My Regular Outfits That Would Go Perfectly With A Pissed-Off Cat”
5. “These Are A Very Rare Set Of 16th Century Italian Notation Knives. Each Side Has Musical Notes And Lyrics Engraved On The Steel Blade, Which Are Meant To Be Sung As Grace Before And After A Meal”
6. “A Woman Of Many Disguises! This Is An Example Of An Unusual Fad From The Mid-1600s: Miniature Oil Portraits That Came With Clear Slices Of Mica Painted With Different Costumes”
7. “Traditional Irish Jack-O’-Lantern Carved From A Turnip, Circa 1850. Preserved All These Years By The Tears Of Children, I Presume”
8. “About 4500 Years Ago, Ancient Egyptian Parents Put This Homemade Ball In Their Child’s Grave As A Toy For The Kid To Play With In The Afterlife”
9. “A Neon Salesman’s Sample Case, Circa 1935”
10. “The Shoe That Marie Antoinette Lost When She Tripped Going Up The Steps To The Guillotine On The Morning Of Her Execution, 16 October 1793”
11. “Screaming Baby Dolls Made From Bisque Porcelain By German Dollmaker Kestner Around 1920. This Doll Gives Me Such A Visceral Stress Response. Honestly, I Don’t Understand Who Would Ever Want Such A Thing Unless It Shoots Birth Control Pills Out Of Its Mouth At You Like A Pez Dispenser”
12. “Shoe Doll That Belonged To A Child In The Slums Of London In The Early 20th Century. It Is Handmade From Fabric Scraps And The Heel Of A Man’s Delapidated Shoe, With Hair Made From An Old Black Sock”
13. “A Tiny Devil Vitrified In A Prism Of Glass. In The 18th Century, The Imperial Treasury Of Vienna Attested That This Was A Real Demon Which Had Been Trapped In Glass During An Exorcism In Germany A Century Earlier”
14. “When The Lid Is Opened On This Victorian Gold Charm, A Little Demon With Sparkling Rhinestone Eyes Pops Out. These (Frankly Adorable) Devil Totems Were Worn As Symbols Of Temperance — A Reminder To Resist The Sinful Temptation Of Drinking Alcohol”
15. “In The Early 1900s A Man Couldn’t Afford Proper Dentures, So He Made His Own Using Melted Down Toothbrush Handles And The Teeth Of A Dead Coyote”
16. “Ghoulish Gold Earrings Depicting The Severed Heads Of Marie Antoinette And King Louis Xvi Were Sold As Souvenirs During Their Execution By Guillotine In 1793”
17. “These Amazing Vintage Krampus Claws Come From A Small Town In Austria, And Were Used At An Annual Krampus Festival For Approximately 70 Years”
18. “Don’t Fear The Reaper, But Do Fear Poor Oral Hygiene. Fancy Memento Mori Toothpick, In The Shape Of A Skull With An Arm Holding A Sickle”
19. “A 15th Century Painting Of St Bartholomew Wearing His Own Flayed Skin As A Robe After Being Skinned Alive And Honestly He Is Totally Pulling Off The Look”
20. “Marble Sculptures Of The Left Arms Of Princess Louise (1848), Prince Alfred (1845) And Princess Beatrice (1859). They Were Carved By Mary Thornycroft, Who Was Commissioned By Queen Victoria To Sculpt The Arms Based On Plaster Casts Made From Her Sleeping Babies”
21. “Silvered Glass Bottle Said To Contain The Spirit Of A Witch Inside. It Was Collected In 1915 From An Old Lady Living Near Hove, Sussex, Who Sternly Warned That If You Opened The Wax Seal There Would Be A ‘Peck O’trouble'”
22. “These Are Dummy Soap Heads Made By Frank Morris And Brothers John And Clarence Anglin, Which They Tucked Into Their Beds To Fool The Night Guards During Their Successful Escape From Alcatraz Penitentiary In June 1962”
23. “Morgue Chocolates, Made From Molds Of Wounds Found On Bodies In A New York Morgue”
24. “An Antique Bear Automaton Whose Fur Was Destroyed By An Infestation Of Moths”
25. “Unsettling 17th Century Mask Made From Real Human Hair, Leather Skin, Feathers And False Teeth. It Was Worn As A Disguise By The Outlaw Preacher Alexander Peden (1626-1686), A Popular Scottish Covenanter In Hiding For His Treasonous Views That Rejected King Charles I As The Spiritual Head Of The Church In Scotland”
26. “This Enchanting Painting Is ‘Silence Of The Forest’ (1885) In Which A Nymph Rides Out Of A Darkened Wood On The Back Of A Freaked-Out Unicorn”
27. “Folk Art Wood Carving Of An Exorcism Scene, With A Demon Sitting On Top Of A Terrified, Wide-Eyed Child”
28. “A Posthumous Portrait Of A Child Holding A Lizard, Which Sheds Its Skin And Regrows Its Tail — A Symbol Of Resurrection, Rebirth Or Regeneration”
29. “A Witch Whistle Or ‘Heksen Flute’ Made From A Rat’s Paw And Carved Bone. Made In 19th Century Belgium, And Purchased By The Museum Aan De Stroom In Antwerp In 1964”
30. “A Brown Velvet Hat That Belonged To A Street ‘Dentist’ Or Travelling Tooth Puller In London In The 1820s-50s. It Is Decorated With 88 Decayed Human Teeth From His Former Patients, Each Drilled With A Hole And Attached With Twine”
31. “Flying Monkey Costume Tests To Pick The Perfect Wings For The Wizard Of Oz, 1939. Also Exactly How I Look Picking Out My Outfit Each Morning”
32. “White Gold Enamel Earrings In The Shape Of Little Hands, Which Are Holding Pieces Of The Cannonball Shrapnel That Was Dug Out Of The King Of Denmark’s Forehead In 1644”
33. “The ‘St Dennistoun Mortuary’, A Macabre Coin-Operated Automaton Made Around 1900. When A Coin Is Inserted, The Doors Open To Reveal Morticians Working On Several Dead Bodies Laid Out On Embalming Tables”
34. “Otto Bache ‘Study Of The Mummified Head Of James Hepburn, 4th Earl Of Boswell, C.1535-1578′”
35. “Persian Cat Sabotaged Before A Cat Show In Milwaukee, Wisconsin In 1949. According To Her Owner, Petite Lilly Bear Was Smeared With Makeup By An Unknown Assailant In The Hours Before A Sunday Morning Cat Show, Ruining Her Chances Of Winning”
36. “Late Victorian Art Pottery Known As Martinware, Which Depicts A Horrifying Crab With A Grotesque Human Face. Made By Robert Wallace Martin In June 1880, From Salt-Glazed Stoneware”
37. “Hans Eijkelboom, ‘With My Family’ (1973). For This Series, The Dutch Photographer Would Ring The Doorbells Of Strangers’ Houses After He Saw The Husbands Leave For Work. He Would Then Convince Their Wives To Pose In A Family Portrait With Him In The Place Of The Father”
38. “A Peanut Vendor Wearing A Suit Made Of Peanuts In 1890. Photograph By Henry H. Buehman”
39. “Keep Your Face Looking Youthful By Washing It With The Tears Of Children! Norton’s ‘Smile And Cry’ Baby Face Soap With Face Flannel, 1930-39. There Is A Laughing Face On The Other Side Of The Baby’s Head And I Honestly Don’t Know Which Option Is Worse”
