Museums
The World's Most Unusual Museums
The Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb began in 2006 when two former partners, Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić, broke up and joked about creating a museum for the objects no one knew what to do with afterwards. By 2010 it was a permanent collection of donated items and the heartbreak stories that came with them: a wedding dress in a jar, a toaster shaped like a bear, an axe used by one woman to chop up the furniture of her ex-girlfriend.
These eight museums are dedicated to subjects ranging from sanitation to phallic objects to instant ramen. None of them are jokes. All of them are serious institutions with curators, archives, and admission fees — just on subjects the Louvre considers beneath it.
Below: opening hours, the one room you mustn't miss, and the museum gift shop best avoided.
Late afternoon light, looking east. Photo by our regional correspondent.
Why This Place Matters
The Sulabh International Museum of Toilets, New Delhi (founded 1992 by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak) covers 4,500 years of sanitation, from the 2500 BC Indus Valley drains to Louis XIV's chamber-pot throne. It is genuinely funded by sanitation NGO Sulabh, which builds public toilets across India.
The Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama (2011) is dedicated to instant ramen, invented by Momofuku Ando in 1958. The 'My Cup Noodles Factory' lets visitors design their own cup, with 5,460 possible flavor combinations.
The Icelandic Phallological Museum in Reykjavík was founded in 1997 by retired teacher Sigurður Hjartarson and contains 280 penis specimens from 93 Icelandic mammal species, including 17 from the elusive 'hidden people' — gifted by the donor under sealed terms.
A Short History
The Museum of Death in Hollywood (founded 1995) holds the world's largest collection of serial-killer artwork, a guillotined head photograph series, and the original van used by the Heaven's Gate cult.
MUSA, the Cancún Underwater Museum, was founded in 2009 by British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor. It consists of 500 life-sized concrete figures submerged 8 m below the Caribbean surface, designed to grow coral and divert divers from natural reefs.
The Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (1858) is the most respected medical curiosity collection in the world: 25,000 specimens including the Soap Lady (a 19th-century corpse turned to adipocere) and a slice of Albert Einstein's brain.
What You Will Actually See
Museum of Broken Relationships, Zagreb — Upper Town, just below St. Mark's Square. Each object's caption (the donor's anonymous story) is the actual exhibit.
Sulabh International Museum of Toilets, Delhi — Mahavir Enclave, Palam Dabri Marg. Free entry, includes Roman-era toilets, a French throne commode, and a working biogas latrine demonstration.
Cup Noodles Museum, Yokohama — Minato Mirai district. ¥500 entry plus ¥400 to design a noodle cup.
Icelandic Phallological Museum, Reykjavík — Hafnartorg. Free entry to the gift shop; ISK 2,500 for the museum.
Cancún Underwater Museum (MUSA) — accessible only by dive or glass-bottom-boat tour from Cancún; book with Aquaworld or Scuba Cancún.
Mütter Museum, Philadelphia — 19 South 22nd Street. Don't miss the Hyrtl Skull Collection (139 skulls collected for phrenological study, with the deceased's profession written on the bone).
Museum of Bad Art (MOBA), Boston — basement of the Somerville Theatre, free entry, curated since 1993. Includes 'Lucy in the Field with Flowers', the museum's founding object.
Sewer Museum, Paris (Musée des Égouts) — actual section of working Paris sewer at Pont de l'Alma; €9, very strong smell.
Mundo a Tus Pies (World At Your Feet), Mexico City — the museum of footwear, including Mexican rebel Pancho Villa's spurs.
The kind of detail you only notice on the second visit.
Interesting Facts
A few quick notes on the world's most unusual museums before the section below.
These are the details our correspondents most often get asked about by readers planning a trip.
Practical Information
Zagreb's Museum of Broken Relationships closes Mondays in winter. Allow 90 min — the captions take time. The café next door (Mali Medo) is part of the experience.
Sulabh requires advance booking via their website for weekend visits; weekday walk-ins are fine. Free, but tips for the guide (₹100) appreciated.
Cup Noodles Museum — Saturday afternoons sell out the design-your-own-cup slots; book online.
Mütter Museum requires a timed-entry ticket ($20). Photography banned inside; the gift shop sells postcards.
Interesting Facts
- The Museum of Broken Relationships has received over 4,000 donated objects since 2006 and tours internationally — past venues include Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Mexico City, and Belfast.
- Sulabh International built over 1.5 million public toilets across India before opening its museum; the founder Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak received the 2009 Stockholm Water Prize.
- The Cup Noodles Museum sells one of every 5,460 possible flavor-and-topping combinations from its build-your-own-noodles factory; the most popular is curry with five toppings.
- The Icelandic Phallological Museum acquired its first human specimen in 2011, from Icelandic patriot Páll Arason who willed his body for the purpose at age 95.
- The Mütter Museum's Hyrtl Skull Collection (139 skulls) was assembled by Viennese anatomist Joseph Hyrtl in the 1860s as proof against the racist craniometry of his time.
Most travellers walk straight past this corner. Stop and look up.
How To Visit
Zagreb's Upper Town is a 10-minute walk from the main square; the museum is at Ćirilometodska 2.
Sulabh Museum is a 20-minute auto-rickshaw from IGI Airport (~₹250); or Metro Yellow Line to Dabri Mor.
Yokohama is 30 min by JR Tokaido from Tokyo Station; museum is 8 min on foot from Minatomirai station.
MUSA Cancún diving tours run daily from Marina Aquaworld, $79 for a 2-tank dive.
Final Thoughts
Unusual museums are the best argument for travel insurance against jet lag: you stay awake because the wall labels are too interesting.
The Museum of Broken Relationships is the one I send everyone to. The objects are funny, the captions are sometimes shattering, and you leave grateful for whoever you came home to.
Bring cash — at least three of these eight do not take cards, including Sulabh and Mütter's coat-check tip jar.
If you read this article and noticed something we got wrong, please write to us. Reader corrections shape what we publish next.
Marguerite Soto
Regional correspondent for WIGO Trips. Writes about overlooked places and quiet histories.
