The weirdest museums in the world
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In the heart of Amsterdam's Red Light District a small educational museum about prostitution has opened. The 'Red Light Secrets Museum' hopes to give people a glimpse into the lives of sex workers - without actually having to visit a prostitute. It joins a multitude of unusual museums from around the world. If you have a peculiar fascination for dog collars, a penchant for mustard or you just love polishing your lawnmower every now and again (and no, that's not a euphemism) then these museums are for you:
The Museum of Bad Art in Boston, US, is the world's 'only museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms', according to its website. The collection is made up of art found in charity shops, recovered from rubbish bins or even donated by artists themselves. This piece, called 'Mana Lisa', by A. Schmidt, was donated by the artist.
The British Lawnmower Museum in Southport, Merseyside, has more than 300 marvellous models - including one that belonged to Prince Charles and Diana! The collection features Edwardian and Victorian artefacts that herald way back to 1830, when the first lawnmower was developed by Englishman Edwin Beard Budding
The Dog Collar Museum in Leeds Castle, Kent, is a fascinating collection of canine neckwear that spans six centuires. There are collars from the 15th century which were worn to help protect pooches from the wolves and bears that roamed Europe at the time. There are also avant-garde leather collars from the 18th century. Sadly, no dogs are allowed in the museum
The 'Red Light Secrets' museum in Amsterdam hopes to educate the thousands of tourists who visit the Dutch capital. The museum, housed in an old brothel, allows visitors to learn more about prostitution without having to visit a prostitute. It focuses on the industry after 2000, when it was legalised in the Netherlands.
The Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum in Tokyo is dedicated entirely to ramen, the Japanese noodle. It has an area that recreates Tokyo in 1958, the year in which instant noodles were created. There are plenty of ramen stands selling the tasty treat for peckish tourists to feast on
The Teapot Island in Maidstone, Kent, was created because the owner, Sue Blazye, found her ever-growing teapot collection outgrew her own home. The collection of nearly 7,000 teapots was of world record proportions in 2004, but it eventually lost its title in 2011 to man in China who apparently has 30,000 vessels. But, unlike Sue, the man from China doesn't provide cream teas if you visit
This is the world's longest coloured pencil - a whopping 7m-long. It is housed at the Cumberland Pencil Museum in Keswick, Cumbria, where the world's first pencil factory was opened in 1832. The museum allows tourists to delve into the history of pencils and offers colouring-in workshops for children.
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