30 Pictures From ‘The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things’

The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things might be an imaginary institution, but it’s so captivating that over 4 million people have already paid it a visit.

From early twentieth century German Halloween accessories to eighteenth century Japanese medical book illustrations, the display showcases a diverse array of artifacts that defy conventional categorization, providing a unique experience for those who are interested in all parts of culture.

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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

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

According to its website, The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things started back in 2011 as Dr. Chelsea Nichols' personal blog.However, it eventually fell into “a period of outrageous neglect and decay,” and was relaunched in 2019 as an umbrella site for “a series of digital, curatorial, and writing projects dedicated to making the world a weirder and more interesting place.”

According to its website, The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things started back in 2011 as Dr. Chelsea Nichols' personal blog.

However, it eventually fell into “a period of outrageous neglect and decay,” and was relaunched in 2019 as an umbrella site for “a series of digital, curatorial, and writing projects dedicated to making the world a weirder and more interesting place.”

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

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

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

As a curator, Nichols is interested “in the strange and dark corners of art history.“She has a DPhil from the University of Oxford, where her doctoral thesis examined human curiosities in contemporary art.When she’s not posting online, Nichols works as the senior curator at The Dowse Art Museum, throwing such bonkers exhibitions asCandy Coated,The Truth Is Out There, andSteamed Hams.

As a curator, Nichols is interested “in the strange and dark corners of art history.”

She has a DPhil from the University of Oxford, where her doctoral thesis examined human curiosities in contemporary art.

When she’s not posting online, Nichols works as the senior curator at The Dowse Art Museum, throwing such bonkers exhibitions asCandy Coated,The Truth Is Out There, andSteamed Hams.

Traditional Irish Jack-O'-Lantern Carved From A Turnip, Circa 1850. Preserved All These Years By The Tears Of Children, I Presume

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

A Neon Salesman’s Sample Case, Circa 1935

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

Nichols is also one half of the duoCurator of Screams, a collaboration with fellow curator Aaron Lister, through which they explore the relationship between contemporary art and horror movies.Their exhibition projects have included artist-as-vampireJosh Azzarella: Triple Feature, an exploration of the witch archetype inSisterly, and an ode to folk horror withEerie Pagentry.

Nichols is also one half of the duoCurator of Screams, a collaboration with fellow curator Aaron Lister, through which they explore the relationship between contemporary art and horror movies.

Their exhibition projects have included artist-as-vampireJosh Azzarella: Triple Feature, an exploration of the witch archetype inSisterly, and an ode to folk horror withEerie Pagentry.

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

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

Gold Spider Earrings, 300 Bc To 100 Bc, From The Bactrian Region In Modern Day Afghanistan

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

However, in 2020, The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things also entered the real world, in the form of an acclaimed pop-up exhibition calledLost Heads & Hobgoblinsat The Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

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

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

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

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”

These Amazing Vintage Krampus Claws Come From A Small Town In Austria, And Were Used At An Annual Krampus Festival For Approximately 70 Years

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

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

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

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

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

Folk Art Wood Carving Of An Exorcism Scene, With A Demon Sitting On Top Of A Terrified, Wide-Eyed Child

An Antique Bear Automaton Whose Fur Was Destroyed By An Infestation Of Moths

Morgue Chocolates, Made From Molds Of Wounds Found On Bodies In A New York Morgue

A Posthumous Portrait Of A Child Holding A Lizard, Which Sheds Its Skin And Regrows Its Tail – A Symbol Of Resurrection, Rebirth Or Regeneration

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

A Witch Whistle Or ‘Heksenfluit’ 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

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