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(c) Elliott Publishing.

More Odd Museums
The Occidental Tourist · October 11, 2000

Last week, the Tourist broke down this myth that the premiere place for eager sightseers to check out museums was in Washington, D.C. Well, no, it isn't. That's where the Tourist lives, and he doesn't like you. So go away.

Instead, he provides these, er, more colorful museums where these good-hearted, endearing out-of-towners - if you block the door for the Metro train just one more time, the Tourist is whipping out a cattle prod! - can enjoy an outing of family fun. And send him your observations at tourist@ticked.com. Don't forget your name and city/town of residence:

How should one follow up a medical museum trip? Try the famous Museum of Death in Hollywood, Calif., which features an execution room and tributes to David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz and Charles "Family Guy" Manson. The best thing they have on display is a mailer that says 'Museum of Death, you may have won $10 million!' (323/466-8011)

Not to be out-ghouled, the Museo de las Momias in Guanajuato, Mexico, brings in hordes of tourists fascinated with beings who look reasonably well-preserved, considering that they're technically dead. Apparently, with the way those wacky Guanajuato-ians used to do it, if you croaked and your family refused to shell out for a gravesite, you got dug up, mummified and put on display.

Hungry after that? Then, the LeRoy House and Jell-O Gallery in LeRoy, N.Y., is dedicated to the fine desert that, no matter what flavor it is, always kinda tastes the same (716/768-7433). In Los Banos, Laguna in the Philippines, Riceworld is dedicated to the farming techniques that serve up this rather bland dish that your mother threatened to send back to Asia if you didn't eat it.

The Liberace Museum proves that Elvis isn't the only dead star who can please a Vegas crowd. The museum is divided up in ever-helpful galleries devoted to pianos, cars, jewelry and, umm, his bedroom. There's a black, diamond mink; feathered capes; a King Neptune costume covered in sea shells and pearls; and a pair of red, white and blue hot pants he wore at Radio City Music Hall. Eighteen of his rare pianos are there, as well as the luxury cars. Among the later, one is a Rolls Royce covered with mirror tiles and another is a customized, pink Volkswagen.

Naturally, artwork is always great for a museum. And if William Shatner had a painter's palate and brush, he'd probably serve up something worthy of the Museum of Bad Art (shortened as MOBA) at the Dedham Community Theater in greater Boston. The collection showcases the works of dedicated, struggling artist, all of whom happen to be extremely untalented. The museum mainly attracts patrons of the community theater who happen to be on their way to the bathroom, says MOBA's Parker McGurl. Despite the dubious honor, many art lovers (obviously, a characterization subject to interpretation) lobby to have works included.

"Our low standards still hold," McGurl says. "Only about one piece in 10 is actually accepted into the permanent collection." Among other efforts, the greater museum puts on a "Fine Wine/Bad Art" exhibit downtown. If you saw some of this stuff, you'd drink a lot of wine too.

Had enough yet? No problem. There are a number of Web sites devoted to oddball exhibits.

4Museums maintains an "oddities" link that directs users to these kinds of places. Included is the International UFO Museum & Research Center, the Tattoo Museum and the Museum of Dirt, which, among other intriguing artifacts, displays something somebody scraped from Barry Manilow's driveway.

Roadside America also provides summaries/details on many of these museums, and invites readers to send their own findings. Among the highlights: The Hair Museum in Independence, Mo. The museum is the inspiration of cosmetologist Lelia Cohoon, who displays hair braided into butterflies, wreaths, bracelets and Oreos. (Try crumbling that into someone's ice cream ...)

The Occidental Tourist is a magazine writer in Washington, DC. He writes for Maxim, Capital Style and ABCNews.com. His column appears on Tuesdays. E-mail him at tourist@ticked.com.