World's funniest museums

| Friday August 13, 2010 00:00

Paris Sewer Museum, FrancePrepare yourself: the 'galleries' of the Musee des Egouts de Paris are actually disused sections of Paris' sewerage system (fans of Hugo's Les Misrables will know what to expect).

The smell is unbelievable and let that be a warning - you can't completely eradicate over 100 years of crap. Exhibits include photographs, maps and stuffed sewer rats.

As a bonus, you can actually walk around on walkways a few metres above flowing, flushing waste from the stinky Parisians above ground. There's a souvenir shop, too, that sells...ah... It's open Saturday to Wednesday; Paris Museum pass holders get in for free.

Meguro Parasitological Museum, JapanTruly, this really takes the cake - coloured beakers and test tubes lines the walls, each containing a different human or animal parasite.

Yes, that's right: tapeworms, hookworms, larvae. Plus detailed anatomical maps showing the life cycles of parasites in the abdomen and nether regions, and gruesome medical photos showing the real-life consequences of infection.

If that does not satisfy, the souvenir shop can sell you parasite-themed T-shirts and key rings. This Tokyo museum's publicity claims it's the perfect place for lovers on a date - if you're dating David Cronenberg, perhaps.

Icelandic Phallogical Museum, IcelandYou'll be cock-a-hoop after visiting this place, with its collection of phalluses from animals and humans; the museum claims that 'phallology is an ancient science', something that a chap like John Holmes would certainly agree with.

From the outside this museum in Husavik is dainty and old-fashioned, but inside is a world beyond belief, with over 150 penises and penile parts of all sizes mounted, stuck and glued to the walls, hanging from the ceiling, and illuminated in glaring light. 

Be careful: some of these could have your eye out.  Needless to say, no touching is allowed.

Museum of Bad Art, USAWith the motto, 'Art too bad to be ignored', this Massachusetts museum holds a collection of over 250 pieces, including paintings and sculptures with grossly misaligned perspectives, bodies with arms that look more like thighs, and the most garish colours this side of Ken Done.

As the museum promises, this is truly 'exuberant art by people who sometimes don't have a clue what they're doing'.

Some of this stuff has been donated, some of it has been fished out of garbage cans, but all of it stinks to high heaven.

Hair Museum, TurkeyGalip Korukcu is a Turkish potter who decided to collect as much hair as he could from women all over the world and open a hair museum.

The idea was to raise awareness for his ceramics course by dreaming up the most hair-brained scheme imaginable so that people would remember his name. 

Housed in a cave in Avanos and featuring over 16,000 samples of women's hair hanging from the walls and roof, this hair lair resembles a serial killer's den more than anything, especially when Korukcu puts on his apron and gets his scissors out (predictably, he has a full head of hair).