While fighting in the Battle of Gettysburg, cannonball fire destroyed Union General Dan Sickles’ right leg. Shortly after amputation, Sickles sent his limb to the Army Medical Museum- now called the National Museum of Health and Medicine. He used to visit it every year on the anniversary of the loss.
(image via Wikipedia)
In 1898, Lt. Col. John Henry Harrison led the construction of the Kenya-Uganda Railway over the Tsavo River. Unfortunately, two male lions savagely killed dozens of workers. Ultimately, Patterson was able to kill the “Tsavo Man-Eaters.” After using their pelts as rugs, Patterson sold them and their skulls to The Field Museum in Chicago for $5,000 in 1924.
(image via Wikipedia)
At nearly 8-feet-tall, the world’s largest Pez dispenser can hold 6,480 of the little candies. The snowman figure was made at the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia and towers over the California collection.
(image via Instagram)
The International Banana Museum in California is basically a shrine to the yellow fruit. It’s here where you’ll find the world’s only petrified banana. The now-framed black fossil was sent to the museum in the mid-’80s after being discovered in a girl’s bedroom in Kentucky.
(image via Instagram)
The jury’s still out on what caused a large piece of farmland to be littered with flesh during a 1876 Kentucky meat shower, but you can view a sample of the “rain” the next time you’re in Lexington. The Monroe Moosnick Medical and Science Museum at Transylvania University has a jar of the preserved mystery meat on display.
(image via Youtube)
Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum is home to the Soap Lady, whose remains became encased in a hard, waxy substance called adipocere after burial. Exhumed in 1875, this well-preserved corpse is believed to have been between 20-40 years old at the time of her death.
(image via Pinterest)
Among historical artifacts such as a steam train and a horse-drawn hearse, a 1,050-pound ball of string is on display at the Patee House Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri. The oddity used to belong to a St. Joe resident who called himself “I buy anything.”
(image via Pinterest)
Cher Ami, a celebrated carrier pigeon, survived gunfire to deliver a total of 12 messages to American troops in France during World War I. Cher Ami’s final delivery saved the lives of nearly 200 men under attack by friendly fire. Today, this beloved war hero can be seen at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
(image via Wikipedia)
More than 100 interesting dog collars dating back to the 15th century are on display at the Dog Collar Museum at Leeds Castle in Kent, United Kingdom. Historian John Hunt’s collection was gifted to the museum by his wife Gertrude after his death in 1975.
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Leila’s Hair Museum was started by former hairdresser Leila Cohoon in 1986. Framed hair wreaths were popular home décor in the Victorian era, and you can view some at this museum. Also on display in Independence, MO is hair jewelry, hair art, and celebrity locks.
(image via Instagram)
Used by the KGB in the 1960s, a single-shot lipstick pistol can be seen at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. "The Kiss of Death" is a tiny part of the world’s largest espionage collection on public display.
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Created in 1992 to raise awareness about the importance of sanitation and hygiene, the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets can be found in New Delhi, India. Tour the ancient, medieval, and modern sections to see how the toilet has evolved from 2,500 B.C. to present day.
(image via Instagram)
Sarasota, Florida’s Ringling Museum is home to an impressive 3,800 square-foot model of the circus show during its golden era (1919-1938). The miniature circus was created and donated by Howard Tibbals, whose love affair with the circus started in childhood.
(image via Instagram)
Who knew an axe could be an effective therapy tool? See this dual-purpose instrument in Croatia at the Museum of Broken Relationships. The museum also houses a unique collection of artifacts, like fractured couplings.
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In the 1800s, seven Irish coal miners were hanged at what is now the Old Jail Museum in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Right before his hanging, one of the men made a dirty handprint on his cell wall, saying it would remain as proof of his innocence. Despite efforts to remove it, the mark is still visible.
(image via Leigh Valley Live)
