Culture: Museum
Spoof Museums   (+8)  [vote for, against]
You can fool most of the people ...

In suitably appropriate locations, set up museums for things like trades and professions that are in fact completely fictional; for example, a Museum of Mouse Herding, replete with displays of traditional mouse-herding apparel, mouse-herder's whistles, details of how Chihuahuas were trained to herd mice, and wicker mouse-pens.

A Museum of Spaghetti Growing, with harvesting machines on show; a Museum of Treacle Mining, depicting the suffering of the miners, the terrible conditions they were forced to work in, the numerous dangers of their trade, and the oppressive brutality of the mine owners; and a Museum of Vinegar Smelting, showing how crude vinegar is extracted from the ore, and then refined.

The most important thing is that the fake museum must be absolutely serious, with no hint that it is a spoof. Displays must be well-engineered and professional, with staff carefully rehearsed in spouting complete rubbish in a po-faced and utterly sincere way. There needs to be a gift shop (selling the usual tacky rubbish), glossy brochures, and a convincingly high admission fee.

Feeds from the CCTV would be available to subscribers to the member's section of the website.
-- 8th of 7, Jun 01 2016

The Stink Ant of the Camaroon... http://www.mjt.org/
[normzone, Jun 01 2016]

The Smithsonian Museum of Dad-Trolling https://xkcd.com/826/
From Guest Week... [RayfordSteele, Jun 01 2016]

The great treacle-mining disaster of 1919 https://en.wikipedi...reat_Molasses_Flood
[hippo, Jun 02 2016]

Kenwood, not exactly a spoof, but bugger all people know it's there http://www.english-...isit/places/kenwood
[not_morrison_rm, Jun 05 2016]

I'll just leave this here. http://imgur.com/gallery/336BU9f
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 05 2016]

Banksy made a display of a large insect with air to air missiles under its wings and hung it in a museum where it remained, IIRC, for several months B4 being removed. Great idea.
-- Steamboat, Jun 01 2016


Reminds me of an XKCD cartoon...
-- RayfordSteele, Jun 01 2016


I can only agree with the chief custodian of the Rentisham's Museum and Flenting Archive, who believes your proposal would bring bona fide trade museums into disrepute.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 01 2016


I've always wanted to see just how Chihuahua Cheese is made.
Do they use tiny little milk stools and buckets or is it all automated nowadays?
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 01 2016


Tiny milking machines, for hygiene, and trained marmosets. The rest is a traditional craft process.

// would bring bona fide trade museums into disrepute. //

You seem to have grasped the essentials of the idea, yes. Why, is that some sort of a problem ?

Awesome cartoon, [Ray].
-- 8th of 7, Jun 01 2016


I think they already did this with those Creationism Museums.
-- zen_tom, Jun 02 2016


<points>

"the fake museum must be absolutely serious, with no hint that it is a spoof."

That hardly fits with creationism ...
-- 8th of 7, Jun 02 2016


In the treacle mining exhibit there should be a diorama of the Great Treacle-Mining Disaster of 1919 (see link)
-- hippo, Jun 02 2016


Better than that, you'll be able to buy tiny bits of the actual treacle, entombed in clear plastic, in the souvenir shop - at an extortionate price, of course.

But it does come with a signed Certificate of Authenticity, on paper made by the original process and with the original equipment in the Old Bodgington fish-paper mill, the only manufacturers who can convert the now highly endangered European Speckled Pulpfish to a desireable writing surface ...
-- 8th of 7, Jun 02 2016


The entire museum could be redone periodically, like an exhibit is redone. But this would be the whole shebang, and the name too. That way the locals would keep going to see what was new, and you would hopefully suck in some foreign tourists too.
-- bungston, Jun 04 2016


In the States recent grads cannot name six presidents, remember what the Civil War was all about, understand what is in a hamburger or even know if Mickey Mouse was a dog or a cat. A museum such as you describe would be very dangerous. I like it. [+]
-- whatrock, Jun 04 2016


// name six presidents, //

Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful and Doc ...

// remember what the Civil War was all about,//

The right to transport Civets across a State line...

// understand what is in a hamburger //

Ham, of course..

// or even know if Mickey Mouse was a dog or a cat. //

A moose ?
-- 8th of 7, Jun 04 2016



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