The World's 100 Weirdest Museums

The World's 100 Weirdest Museums

Author: Geoff Tibballs

Publisher: Robinson

Published: 2016-10-20

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 1472136969

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When we think of the world's great museums, we tend to think of the Louvre, the Guggenheim or the Victoria and Albert. We do not immediately think of the Dog Collar Museum, the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum, the Museum of Broken Relationships or Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum. Yet scattered across the globe are museums dedicated to every conceivable subject, from bananas to Bigfoot, lawnmowers to leprechauns, teapots to tapeworms, mustard to moist towelettes, and pencils to penises. Many are serious collections housed in grand buildings, others are located in tiny premises and are open to visitors by appointment only, often the result of one person's crazy lifetime obsession. This book lists the world's 100 weirdest museums in order of quirkiness, encompassing such delights as The Museum of Witchcraft in Cornwall, a museum in Kentucky that houses 800 ventriloquists' dolls, the Museum of Bad Art in Massachusetts, the Paris Sewer Museum, the French Fry Museum in Bruges, the Museum of Contraception and Abortion in Vienna, the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Tennessee, Japan's Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum (quite possibly the world's only museum devoted to instant noodles), and the Kunstkamera in St Petersburg, home to Peter the Great's collection of oddities including deformed fetuses and the decapitated head of a love rival preserved in vinegar. After all, what holiday is complete until you have seen a 300-year-old decapitated human head in a jar? Each entry will include address, contact and admission details, so the next time you are in Berlin there is no excuse for missing out on a visit to the Currywurst Museum, the world's leading museum dedicated to sausages in hot ketchup.


The Good, the Bad and the Wurst

The Good, the Bad and the Wurst

Author: Geoff Tibballs

Publisher: Robinson

Published: 2016-04-14

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1472137078

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Sixty extraordinary years of Eurovision, from Céline Dion to Dustin the Turkey, from Abba to Conchita Wurst - the drag acts, the bad acts and all the nul points heroes. For 60 years the Eurovision Song Contest has existed in a parallel universe where a song about the construction of a hydro-electric power station is considered cutting-edge pop, where half a dozen warbling Russian grandmothers are considered Saturday night entertainment, where a tune repeating the word 'la' 138 times is considered a winner, and where Australia is considered part of Europe During those sixty years we have witnessed scandals: in 1957, Denmark's Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler enjoyed an outrageously long 13-second kiss because the stage manager forgot to say 'cut' during the live broadcast. We have witnessed national outrage: the 1976 Greek entry was a savage indictment of Turkish foreign policy in Cyprus. But most have all we have witnessed silly costumes, terrible lyrics and performers as diverse as Celine Dion and Dustin the Turkey. This book chronicles the 100 craziest moments in the history of Eurovision - the drag acts, the bad acts, the nul points heroes and the night in Luxembourg when the floor manager warned the audience not to stand up while they applauded because they might be shot by security forces. It captures some of the magic from this yearly event that continues to beguile and bemuse in equal measure.


Offbeat Museums

Offbeat Museums

Author: Saul Rubin

Publisher: Black Dog Publishing

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 9781579122560

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Collects details of some of the strangest museums and exhibits around the United States, providing a guided tour of places such as the Cockroach Hall of Fame, Spinning Top Exploratory Museum, and the Mini Cake Museum.


Face2face Intermediate Student's Book with DVD-ROM

Face2face Intermediate Student's Book with DVD-ROM

Author: Chris Redston

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-02-14

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 1107422108

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face2face Second edition is the flexible, easy-to-teach, 6-level course (A1 to C1) for busy teachers who want to get their adult and young adult learners to communicate with confidence. face2face Second edition is informed by the Cambridge English Corpus and its vocabulary syllabus is mapped to the English Vocabulary Profile, meaning students learn the language they really need at each CEFR level. The free DVD-ROM in the Intermediate Student's Book includes consolidation activities and an electronic portfolio for learners to track their progress, with customisable tests and grammar and vocabulary reference sections. The Class Audio CDs (available separately) contains the complete recordings for the listening activities in the Student's Book.


A History of the World in 100 Objects

A History of the World in 100 Objects

Author: Neil MacGregor

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2011-10-06

Total Pages: 564

ISBN-13: 0141966831

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This book takes a dramatically original approach to the history of humanity, using objects which previous civilisations have left behind them, often accidentally, as prisms through which we can explore past worlds and the lives of the men and women who lived in them. The book's range is enormous. It begins with one of the earliest surviving objects made by human hands, a chopping tool from the Olduvai gorge in Africa, and ends with an object from the 21st century which represents the world we live in today. Neil MacGregor's aim is not simply to describe these remarkable things, but to show us their significance - how a stone pillar tells us about a great Indian emperor preaching tolerance to his people, how Spanish pieces of eight tell us about the beginning of a global currency or how an early Victorian tea-set tells us about the impact of empire. Each chapter immerses the reader in a past civilisation accompanied by an exceptionally well-informed guide. Seen through this lens, history is a kaleidoscope - shifting, interconnected, constantly surprising, and shaping our world today in ways that most of us have never imagined. An intellectual and visual feast, it is one of the most engrossing and unusual history books published in years.


Gender and Heritage

Gender and Heritage

Author: Wera Grahn

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-02-02

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1315460076

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Gender and Heritage brings together a group of international scholars to examine the performance, place and politics of gender within heritage. Through a series of case studies, models and assessments, the significance of understanding and working with concepts of gender is demonstrated as a dynamic and reforming agenda. Demonstrating that gender has become an increasingly important area for heritage scholarship, the collection argues that it should also be recognised as a central structuring device within society and the location where a critical heritage studies can emerge. Drawing on contributions from around the world, this edited collection provides a range of innovative approaches to using gender as a mode of enquiry. From the politics of museum displays, the exploration of pedagogy, the role of local initiatives and the legal frameworks that structure representation, the volume’s diversity and objectives represent a challenge for students, academics and professionals to rethink gender. Rather than featuring gender as an addition to wider discussions of heritage, this volume makes gender the focus of concern as a means of building a new agenda within the field. This volume, which addresses how we engage with gender and heritage in both practice and theory, is essential reading for scholars at all levels and should also serve as a useful guide for practitioners.


Offbeat Museums

Offbeat Museums

Author: Saul Rubin

Publisher:

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780963994646

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Offbeat Museums contains profiles of the curators and collections of America's most unusual museums. From the Banana Museum in California to the Tragedy in U.S. History Museum in Florida, Saul Rubin takes you on a guided tour of the United States' strangest institutions, and introduces you to the offbeat people who run them. Included among the places you will visit are: Cockroach Hall of Fame The Museum of Questionable Medical Devices Mister Ed's Elephant Museum The Museum of Jurassic Technology The Mütter Museum Houdini Historical Center UFO Enigma Museum The Museum of Menstruation Nut Museum 50 museums in all! In the age of cable television and the World Wide Web it's easy to smugly believe that we've seen it all. Such institutions as the Museum of Death, the Museum of Bathroom Tissue, and the Glore Psychiatric Museum suggest otherwise. By stepping outside the mainstream, these offbeat museums meet and even surpass the promise of more traditional museums: To amaze, inspire and enlighten the public. So turn off the TV, log off the Net, and letOffbeat Museums take you on a journey of unexpected wonder and discovery!


Crap Kitchen

Crap Kitchen

Author: Geoff Tibballs

Publisher: Robinson

Published: 2015-11-19

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 1472136829

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The worst cookbook ever, packed with truly bizarre and utterly disgusting recipes from all over the world Ever since humankind produced its first foodie, the culinary world has dished up some staggering confections which could best be described as 'acquired tastes': dishes such as Virgin Boy Eggs (eggs soaked in the urine of prepubescent boys); live octopus, which clutches at the diner's tongue and throat as it is swallowed; and Beard Beer, made from the yeast found in facial hair. In northern Greenland, the Inuit are fond of cramming as many as 500 dead auks (small sea birds) into an old seal skin which they place under a large rock until the birds have fermented into what has rightly been described as a 'sticky, pungent, toxic, cheesy gloop'. Kiviak, as it is called, is eaten by biting off the birds' heads and sucking out the juices. The mighty Roman Empire was built on such delicacies as larks' tongues, stuffed thrush, boiled flamingo and grilled cow's womb, while the Tudors loved nothing more than a roast cockenthrice: the head and upper body of a pig carefully stitched onto the lower body and legs of a turkey. Today, for those with an adventurous mindset and a robust life insurance policy, there is no shortage of nauseating local delicacies to enjoy. In China, not only is tuna eyeball on the menu, but also yak penis (served whole). In Vietnam, one can enjoy the still-beating heart of a freshly-killed snake; in Iceland, raw puffin heart. In the Philippines, there is duck embryo to be had - like a Kinder Surprise . . . only containing a dead foetus instead of a toy. In Sardinia, they like nothing more than a nice bit of maggot-infested cheese; and the favourite tipple of Korean foodies is Ttongsul, a wine made from the fermented faeces of a child. Bon appetit!


Bay Curious

Bay Curious

Author: Olivia Allen-Price

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Published: 2023-05-02

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1797216392

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Curious about the San Francisco Bay Area? With explorations into unique local legends, interesting landmarks, and uncovered histories, Bay Curious is a fun, quirky guide to the secret stories of the Bay Area for visitors, newcomers, and California natives alike. Who was America's first and only Emperor? Why are there ships buried under the streets of San Francisco? Was the word "hella" really created in the East Bay? Bay Curious brings you the answers to these questions and much more through fun and fascinating illustrated deep-dives into hidden gems of Bay Area trivia, history, and culture. Based on the award-winning KQED podcast of the same name, Bay Curious brings a fresh eye to some of its most popular pieces and expands to cover stories unique to this book. With subjects ranging from Marin's redwood forests to the Winchester Mystery House, from the Black Panther Party's school program to the invention of the Mai Tai, Bay Curious gives you the entertaining and informative, weird and wonderful true stories of the San Francisco Bay Area. NOT YOUR AVERAGE GUIDEBOOK: Bay Curious takes a unique approach to exploring the Bay Area through its lesser known but just as fascinating stories, taking readers on a reportorial rather than literal tour. BEYOND THE PODCAST: With 49 entries—inspired by the famous 49-Mile Drive—Bay Curious includes a combination of updated popular episodes from the podcast and brand-new, never-before-heard stories researched for the book, plus fun illustrations and irresistible trivia sidebars. GIFT OR SELF-PURCHASE FOR SF ENTHUSIASTS: For anyone living in San Francisco or visiting with a goal of getting beyond the beaten tourist path, this volume holds a treasure trove of inspiration for an armchair adventure or self-guided tour. Perfect for: Bay Area locals and new arrivals A fun and unique San Francisco reference book for tourists and visitors Fans of the KQED podcast History buffs Anyone who enjoys unexpected, quirky true stories