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Brenda Podemski
Registrar's Office
The J. Paul Getty Museum
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            "I never utter the word ART unless
                    referring to Mr. Linkletter."
                                             -John Waters

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>>> JDEVINE <[log in to unmask]>
11/28/95 05:13am >>>
>> Do you know of any odd museums or pseudo-museums? I am
>> collecting oddities for something tomorrow. I am thinking of
>> things like teddy bear museums, museums of underwear,
>> corsets, pipes, razors, left-handed tools etc. The dafter the
>> better. If you know of such could you please tell me, with
>> details of where and when??? Thanks.

Jim,

A small assortment of places which may be of interest:

As mentioned yesterday, the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto,
Ontario might also qualify:  tho it's a slickly designed series of
informative and interesting exhibits, it *is* all about shoes ;-)

The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City, CA, USA.
Indescribable, really.  A collection of artifacts which may or may
not have a completely (or partially) fabricated running narrative to
tie the items together.  Assembles fables and folklore, wierd
"science", and microscopic sculptures under one roof.  Anita
Cohen-Williams recently posted a new book announcement which
is concerned with this museum (I think the title was "Mr. Wilson's
Cabinet of Wonders").

The Max Factor Museum in Hollywood, CA.  Includes all kinds of
beauty-enhancing or testing hardware (some of it down right
scary), including the famous "kissing machine" (to test the
longevity of lipstick).

The Tupperware Awareness Center in Kissimmee, Florida.
Never been, but I've heard they have tours and displays on
America's favorite line of plastic food storage containers.

The Hair Museum, somewhere in Missouri?  Also never been, but
they are reputed to have an extensive collection of victorian-era
hair weavings and wreaths.

The Banana Museum, somewhere in southern California.  By
appointment only, this vast collection of banana related items is
curated by the same fellow who presides over the Banana Fan
Club.

If I think of any others today, I'll be sure to let you know! ;-)

b