Being bizarre but brilliant, these museums showcase the world’s quirkiest collections, writes ABHI SINGHAL
Sulabh International Museum of Toilets
Established by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak in New Delhi, the museum showcases the global history of sanitation and toilet technology. With exhibits dating from 2500 BCE to the present, the museum highlights hygiene practices, toilet innovations, and social attitudes toward sanitation. Through humour and history, it promotes awareness about the importance of public health, cleanliness, and the urgent need for improved sanitation across the world.
Factsheet
Location: New Delhi, India
Established: 1992
According to the Time magazine, the museum is ranked one of the weirdest among the “10 museums around the world that are anything but mundane.”
Museum of Bad Art
MOBA is the world’s only museum dedicated to collecting and celebrating bad art. MOBA showcases works that have gone hilariously wrong but were created with earnest intent. Its collection features pieces salvaged from skips, car boot sales and donations. It encourages laughter and reflection, offering a unique perspective.
Factsheet
Founded: 1993
Location: Initially in Dedham, Massachusetts
Mission: To celebrate bad art in all its forms
Tagline: "Art too bad to be ignored"
Display: 700+ works of unintentional bad art
Museum of Broken relationships
The Museum of Broken Relationships is a deeply emotional and unconventional museum. It showcases personal objects left behind after breakups, accompanied by stories from around the world. Each exhibit reflects heartbreak, healing, and the human condition. It offers a moving, often cathartic experience for visitors to connect through shared emotional journeys and the universal set of experience for love and loss in relationships.
Factsheet
Founded: 2006
Location: Zagreb, Croatia (permanent); global touring exhibitions
Collection: Personal items and stories from failed relationships
Kent’s Dog Collar Museum
The Dog Collar Museum is the world’s only museum dedicated entirely to historic canine neckwear. Showcasing over 130 collars dating from the 15th century to the present day, the collection offers a fascinating glimpse into the evolving relationship between humans and dogs. From medieval iron collars used for protection to ornate, jewelled designs, the museum highlights changes in fashion, function and status. It’s a quirky yet insightful celebration of man’s best friend.
Factsheet
Founded: Collection began in 1977
Location: Leeds Castle, Kent, England
Oldest Item: 15th-century iron collar
Notable Items: Spiked collars for protection, decorative leather and velvet collars
