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.
Created by curator and art historian Dr. Chelsea Nichols, the museum celebrates the odd, the creative, the spooky, and the eccentric. Oftentimes all at once, too.
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.
More info: ridiculouslyinteresting.com | Instagram | Facebook
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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."
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 as Candy Coated, The Truth Is Out There, and Steamed 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
The Pulp Fiction briefcase revealed!!! It wasn't Marcellus Wallace's soul after all!
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 duo Curator 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-vampire Josh Azzarella: Triple Feature, an exploration of the witch archetype in Sisterly, and an ode to folk horror with Eerie 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 called Lost Heads & Hobgoblins at 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
Interesting 🤔 then again I'm the type to say let's let it out to see if it's true
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
That was a person before they entered that forest. Nymph is now satisfied. Unicow is not.
Honestly, thats one effed up Unicorn... WTF did it encounter... OR a worse effed up UniCow... and now I'm really intrigued... what did they see??? Why is the Nymph so non-plussed? WTAF Did the Nymph do to the Unicorn/Cow???
That is the only depiction of a unicorn I've ever seen that wasn't white or rainbow-coloured.
That looks like cow that got stabbed with a huge pokey weapon from the back of its head - now one could call it a unicorn but we all know that's tonight's dinner
Thought they were only white, well one lives and learns.
It's probably a Hereford unicorn. Friesian unicorns are, of course, black and white.
Load More Replies...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
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
An oddly specific bit of ornamentation. Did the king wear it or did his wife?
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
“St. Dennistoun Mortuary” is a coin-operated automaton, attributed to John Dennison, c. 1900. The mahogany cabinet and glazed viewing area displays a Greek Revival mortuary building with double doors and grieving mourners out front. When a coin is inserted, doors open and the room is lighted revealing four morticians and four poor souls on embalming tables. The morticians move as if busily at work on their grisly task and mourners standing outside bob their heads as if sobbing in grief.
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
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
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
Otto Bache "Study Of The Mummified Head Of James Hepburn, 4th Earl Of Boswell, C.1535-1578"
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
A Peanut Vendor Wearing A Suit Made Of Peanuts In 1890. Photograph By Henry H. Buehman
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
"Dental Plumper" Jaw Prosthetic Worn By Marlon Brando In The Godfather (1972). Brando Wanted Vito Corleone To Have Jowls Like A Bulldog, So He Stuffed Cotton Balls In His Mouth During His Audition
A Collection Of Teeth Extracted By Peter The Great (1672-1725) Who, Despite Having No Formal Medical Training, Fancied Himself To Be A Terrific Amateur Surgeon
Amateur and surgeon are two words that should really be mutually exclusive.
Mechanized Gorilla Teeth And Head Gear Worn By Gorilla Impersonator Ray 'Crash' Corrigan In White Pongo
A Late 19th Century Wax Head From Berlin Which Was Stored Face-Down For Many Years, So That It Deformed Into This Exquisitely Grotesque Nightmare
Hendrick De Keyser (1565-1621) Was A Dutch Sculptor And Architect Inspired By The Timeless And Majestic Beauty Of A Screaming Baby's Forehead Veins
Antique Terracotta Pincushion In The Shape Of A Crying Baby With A Big Gross Metal Fly On Its Face. The Nightmare Only Gets Worse As You Shove Your Sewing Pins Into The Soft Spot On His Poor Little Head
Christine Borland, Set Conversation Pieces (Detail), 1998. Set Of Five Pelvises Containing Fetal Skulls, Which Borland Based On Antique Obstetric Models
Drawing Of A Rat King Found Around 1683 In Strasbourg, France, Attributed To Friedrich Wilhelm Schmuck
at least this is just the drawing. they have an actual one, taxidermied and on display in Strasbourg, and they caught one on video a few years back in Estonia. I do feel sorry for the poor things.
These Images (2002) Are By Natacha Lesueur, A Contemporary French Photographer Who Explores The Relationship Between The Human Body And Food
missing the post on icelandic Nábrók. Do not google if you are prone to nausea.
missing the post on icelandic Nábrók. Do not google if you are prone to nausea.
