Spread across two floors of a regal old 1920s bank building in Astoria, Oregon, this collection is packed with unexpected finds at every turn. It’s a smorgasbord of quirky curiosities, so you never know what treasures or trinkets you’ll come across.
There’s little rhyme or reason to the assortment of oddities. The oldest item, a Native American chair seat made from colored porcupine quills, dates from the 1850s. But the rest of the whimsical wonders are a medley of old and new artifacts from around the world.
You can climb inside a full-sized replica of a British canal narrowboat parked unceremoniously within the old bank building, scan the exhibits for intricate wax boxes, or simply wander the room until you stumble across a piece of vintage clothing or jewelry that sparks your interest.
There are so many things to see, it’s difficult to decide where to start. A striking collection of Folies Bergère dresses and hats immediately catches your eye as you enter—some of the hats even have the name of the dancer who once wore them scrawled inside. Dolls, both daintily beautiful and disturbingly lifelike, are scattered throughout like well-stationed guards. Taxidermy creatures, including a charmingly cute miniature horse, lurk in unexpected places and antique curios hide among newly commissioned works.
The museum is the work of Trish Bright, a retired stockbroker who bought the former bank with her husband in 2005. The curated odds and ends that fill the space are her ever-growing passion project.
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“museums are custodians of epiphanies,
and these epiphanies
enter the central nervous system and deep recesses of the mind.”
-george lois
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credits: museum of whimsy, trish bright, atlas obscura
kinder finds the perfect place right in the middle of the great wide open.
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“science has never drummed up
quite as effective a tranquilizing agent
as a sunny spring day.”
-w. earl hall
heroes all.
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“survival is nothing more than recovery.”
-dianne feinstein
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credits: martin bernetti, afp, getty images mental floss
while everyone’s eyes were focused
on the royal love story across the pond
i happened upon this one
much closer to home.
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“you can’t blame gravity for falling in love.”
-albert einstein
-robert hass, field guide
A Japanese rail company has apologised after a train left a station 25 seconds early, the second such case in months.The operator said the “great inconvenience we placed upon our customers was truly inexcusable”.
If the details are anything to go by, customers are faced with slipping standards: a train last November left 20 seconds early while this time it was a full 25 seconds premature.
Japanese trains have a reputation for extreme punctuality, and it turned out that there were indeed still people hoping to get onboard. Left on the platform, they complained to the rail operator and an official apology was issued shortly afterwards.
In the case last November, management on the Tsukuba Express line between Tokyo and the city of Tsukuba said they “sincerely apologise for the inconvenience” caused. Back then the mishap was also caused by the conductor mixing up departure times – though no passenger was left behind.
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“it’s too early to go, but it’s never too late to leave.”
happy national pack rat day – may 17th
There’s a fine line between holding on to nostalgia, and being a serious contendor for an episode of Hoarders. But just for a day, you are permitted to openly cherish the growing stack of Signals catalogs piling up in your basement sans any judgment of concerned family and friends. Who knows? Maybe your Beanie Babies will become collectibles again, and the joke will be on us.
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and 2 very different philosophies from 2 very creative geniuses on this subject:
“i want to lead the victorian life, surrounded by exquisite clutter.”
-freddie mercury
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“out of clutter, find simplicity.”
-albert einstein
team freddie or team albert?
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credits: stanford university (image), mental floss
kinders find tiny ants, roly-poly’s, and baby spiders
when playing on the sidewalk
and decide to create a playground for them
using all of their pretty chalks.
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“everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”
-confucius
squirrels stash 50 pounds of pine cones under car hood in northern michigan
A pair of Michigan residents couldn’t believe their eyes when they opened the hood of a car to reveal more than 50 pounds of pine cones that had been stored by an unknown culprit, presumably one with four legs and a bushy tail.
Gaylord resident Kellen Moore arrived at the Iron Pig Smokehouse for work with a shocked look on his face. Noticing his odd expression, Gabe Awrey, a friend and manager at the restaurant, asked what was up.
“Being the good friends that we are, he asked me if I had received some snapchat videos that he had just sent me,” Awrey said. “They didn’t come through, so he pulled up the video on his phone. I was instantly in disbelief, saying something along the lines of ‘When was this? A few weeks ago?'”
Moore had previously found the pine cones when he checked under the hood because his air conditioning was making an odd noise when he turned it on. The phone video wasn’t enough for Awrey, though. He had to see it in person.
Together, the friends walked to the parking lot where Moore’s recently-purchased Dodge Journey was parked, opened the hood and discovered the engine bay packed with pine cones. It took them about 45 minutes to clear out the debris.
“Heat from the engine also made them expand, so some were harder than others,” Awrey said. “He bought this car used about a month and a half ago and there were none then.” They both agree that squirrels are responsible for the stockpile.
“This stuff happens a lot up here,” Awrey said. “It happens to everyone eventually. But not on this scale. At the worst you find some acorns in your air filter or what not. Everyone who has seen this can’t believe it. It’s the perfect set up for a squirrel though. Nice and insulated, lots of food with the pine cones. Pretty practical until your nest drives away.”
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“the squirrel in my yard really knows his way around the neighborhood.”
-bob saget
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credits: mlive.com, gabe awrey
I didn't have my glasses on.... 