What makes you different or weird, that’s your strength.

Meryl Streep

Not everyone wants a normal vacation. After all, some of the best things in life are 110% strange. If we wanted a plain life we wouldn’t be traveling the world in search of sites we just can’t find at home. Below are probably some of the oddest museums on the planet, but they are by no means a comprehensive list.

I chose a few that really stood out to me and that put a smile on my face. Some are downright weird, others more controversial, and others you may not want to take your grandma to, but all in all, they’re all fun and worth a visit!

Bodies: The Exhibitions

Don’t confuse this with the controversial Body Worlds… that one has controversial undertones and may use corpses that were not donated to science… aka political prisoners. That being said… this is a touring museum complete with human and animal bodies in various stages of action or dissection. Wanted to see a cross section of brain slices? You can. Want to see what the muscles look like without skin when someone dives for a volleyball? You can do that too! (Without having to resort to becoming a psychopathic serial killer)

Bodies were willingly donated to science to undergo a process called plastination. This allows scientists to freeze certain parts of the body or systems perfectly in place for the rest of time. While the concept to chopping human specimens into smaller pieces or removing pieces for display may be controversial to some, there’s no denying it’s absolute uniqueness, coolness factor, and educational possibilities.

Chopstick Sleeve Exhibit

We’ve all done it. Name one person who has not folded a straw sleeve or a chopstick sleeve or both while sitting at a restaurant. Most people fold them into boring squares but some creative types turn boring chopstick sleeves into mini origami works of art. Japanese waiter, Yuki Tatsumi, collected over 12,000 of these tiny paper pieces of art and opened an exhibit to showcase them. Unfortunately, the exhibit has since closed, but you can still view lots of them online.

Icelandic Phallological Museum

Iceland is known for its uniqueness, but this takes the cake. Want to be surrounded by over 200 penises? They wouldn’t open an entire museum dedicated to weiners if you were the only one. All of these phalluses and phallus parts belong to animals found on the island. They even have whale penises. Nothing like making you question your manhood. Good thing I’m a woman. How’s that for an educational museum? Just don’t tell grandma.

The Museum of Bad Art

Your mom might put your artwork on the fridge, but I’m guessing most of us don’t deserve much more than that. UNTIL the Museum of Bad Art opened its doors and the hopes of dreams of everyone who can’t even draw a stick figure well (that’s me) can have their art displayed in all of its ugly glory.

Feel like looking at interestingly shaped pets? What about sports paintings that look more abstract than realistic? Maybe something that was meant to be religious but just turned out to be…something else. All of them are hilarious and probably still better than anything I could ever hope to do. If you need a laugh, MOBA is where you need to go.

Sulabh International Museum of Toilets

This Indian NGO has collected hundreds of toilets dating back millennia since the early 1990s. These people really know their toilet history and it’s honestly super impressive. The variety alone is worth seeing, but the stories behind each one make it even more interesting. Take a tour through time from the ancient to medieval and modern. You’ll see how the earliest toilets worked to the most high-tech porcelain abodes work today. It’s just goes to show that everyone poops, but some people have fancier toilets than others.

International Cryptozoology Musem

Take a journey down the rabbit hole! See the research and other items associated with the hunt for “hidden animals” or animals that may or may not exist, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. There are photos, artifacts (use that word loosely), testimonials, and more! If you love the supernatural and the hunt for the weird, this museum is meant for you. If nothing else, it’s a great way to spend a rainy day and learn about something very, very different than you normally would on a vacation!

Mutter Museum

The Body Exhibition wasn’t enough for you guys? You needed weirder? Get yourselves a ticket to the Mutter Museum! Packed full of medical anomalies, historical medical instruments, and all of the information you could possibly want in one place about medical history and oddball medical occurrences, this Philadelphia museum is among the creepiest of the strange museums on this list.

Ever wonder what Albert Einstein’s brain looks like? What about over 2,000 items one doctor pulled from the throats of patients after they inhaled or ate them? There are those gems and so many more, plus the rotating special exhibitions will have you going back for more of the extraordinary.

International Spy Museum

If you ever wanted to be a spy, this is your best (and safest) bet. Upon entering, you’ll receive your undercover alias and instructions. You’ll then encounter all sorts of technologies used in the past to steal secrets. Not only will you uncover information, you can learn how spies infiltrated foreign organizations to influence political, social, and cultural events throughout history. Put your best fake mustache on and cruise on down to Washington D.C. to test your spy craft.

Porter Sculpture Park

If you ever thought hmm I wonder what a sheep farm would look like as a sculpture garden you can quit daydreaming and book a flight to Porter Sculpture Park in South Dakota. You’ll be constantly saying “well you don’t see that every day”. From giant flowers to a 60-foot tall bull’s head to a spider attacking a woman to a DRAGON, you can basically experience all life has to offer through sculpture. You can even CLIMB on some of them! Don’t forget to double check and be respectful. It’s weird, but it still took someone a lot of time and effort. You can even bring your dog. I cannot wait until I can book a flight to go see this. Not kidding at all.