30 Of The Weirdest But Most Interesting Things You Don't See Everyday

From devil charm necklaces to screaming baby dolls, these are definitely some of the weirdest things on Earth.

Liezel

• Published in Funny
• April 5, 2022

Some people are contented with frolicking in the mundane things of life. They're good where they are and they don't go seeking anything else.

There are others though who are fascinated by the weird and obscure and would even go out of their way to find such things and stories. If you're one of these people, you'll definitely love "The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things," an imaginary online museum that spans Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, a website, and a Facebook page that has over 53k members.

Created by curator and historian Chelsea Nichols, The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things started out as her personal blog in 2011. Today, it's a place dedicated to making the world a weirder and more interesting place.

For Chelsea, her mission in life is to get more people into art through a "very weird-shaped door probably hidden somewhere in a haunted house.” And well, it looks like she's very successful at it.

Her project features stories behind unusual objects, weird artifacts, and historical events that you might have never heard of before. If you're into those kinds of things, The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things is basically a playground for you.

Here are some of the most intriguing things shared, or rather exhibited at The Museum.

4500 years ago, ancient Egyptian parents buried this homemade ball with their child as a toy for the kid in the afterlife

The ball is made up of old linen rags tied up with string. And from the looks of it, it wasn't made specifically for the burial but rather it was something the kid loved in their time on Earth.

Dummy head used by educators in the old days to demonstrate static electricity

If you're wondering if that's real human hair, yes it is. Demonstrators would rub the metal pole at the bottom with their hands to generate a charge that would travel upwards and make the dummy's hair stand on end.

The sample case of a neon salesman in 1935

A poor Persian cat who was sabotaged before a cat show in Wisconsin in 1949

According to Petite Lily Bear's owner, she was smeared with makeup by an unknown person hours before a morning cat show which ruined her chances of winning. The owner was moved to tears but the cat was the absolute picture of dignity.

Frans Snyders (1579-1657), 'Studies Of A Cat's Head', oil on canvas

A shoe doll that belonged to a kid from the London slums in the early 20th century

The doll belonged to a little girl in Bethnal Green around 1905. It's handmade with fabric scraps, an old black sock, and the heel of a man's shoe.

It was bought by Edward Lovell, an English folklorist, who would trade new toys with poor children's makeshift ones in an attempt to preserve the material culture and history of London's poorest. Instead of exchanging a new toy for the doll, however, Lovell gave the child and her family a sum of money in exchange for it.

This old Victorian gold charm reveals a little demon with sparkling rhinestone eyes when opened

These were called devil totems and were worn as symbols of temperance which reminded the wearer to resist the sinful temptation of drinking alcohol. It was probably made in the US around 1880.

Hans Eijkelboom, 'With My Family' (1973)

Different families, same fathers? Well, that's because the Dutch photographer behind this series would ring the doorbells of strangers' houses after seeing the husband leave for work and convince the wives to pose with him in a family portrait.

Great and mad idea but definitely creepy if you're the one being asked for a photo.

This Is a traditional Irish Jack-O'-Lantern carved from a turnip in 1850

Their Jack-O'-Lanterns are definitely a lot scarier.

Boots of the children who were struck by lighting at St. Eata's Church in England on July 13, 1879

Thankfully, the children weren't seriously injured.

Screaming Baby Dolls made from bisque porcelain by German dollmaker Kestner in 1920

What do you prefer? Screaming dolls or dolls whose eyes seem to follow you everywhere?

Dr. Wansbrough's celebrated nipple shields, late 19th century

Great for protecting sore nipples from greedy baby's teeth and also from telepathic electromagnetic waves of extraterrestrials.

A Witch Whistle or 'Heksenfluit' made from a rat's paw and carved bone

Some sources on the internet say that this flute was used to summon witches on the Sabbath. According to the Museum aan de Stroom in Antwerp, however, it was used to dispel diseased rodents during a rat plague.

The 'St Dennistoun Mortuary', a macabre coin-operated automaton made around 1900

When a coin is inserted into the machine, the doors open to reveal morticians working on a couple of bodies. There's a policeman observing the bodies which are labeled "Believed murdered" and "Found stabbed" and outside are two mourners dabbing their eyes.

This was made by John Dennison who made a business out of creating morbid penny slot machines and creepy mechanical fortune-tellers for the amusement of Blackpool tourists. His other machines had scenes of haunted houses, high-profile crimes, executions, and such.

A tiny devil frozen in a prism of glass

In the 18th century, the Imperial Treasury of Vienna insisted that this little creature was a real demon that was trapped in the glass during an exorcism in Germany a century earlier.

Teeny Tiny Pig Porn

These gold-painted pig charms were made in the early 20th century and hid an erotic photo that can be viewed by looking into the pig's butthole.

These charms have a hidden Stanhope lens which are one-piece microscopes used for viewing microphotographs. In the late 1850s, it became trendy to put these in everyday items as holiday souvenirs but humans being humans, they made it a way to hide their porn.

Rosamun Purcell's creepy photographs of monkey specimens with cotton ball eyes

They look like the things you'll see in hell.

Antique bear automation whose fur covering was eaten away by moths

This bear pours itself a drink and drinks the whole thing in one gulp. The drink then runs to a hidden tube mechanism through its arms.

A terracotta vase made in the likeness of a lobster claw

This one was made in Greece around 450 to 400 BC and there are only nine of these ancient drinking vessels that are known to exist.

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, these were probably novelty cups used at symposia in Ancient Greece.

Plastic dolls from the 1940s and 50s suffering from sad doll disease

Believe it or not, sad doll disease is a real thing. It happens to dolls made from early hard plastics. Infected dolls start to weep brown viscous tears, their heads begin to crack and warp, and they start to emit a vicious vinegar stink.

The strangest part is if one doll gets infected, the others get it too so the infected doll has to be quarantined. There is no cure for it.

The "dental plumper" jaw prosthetic worn by Marlon Brando in The Godfather

When auditioning for the role, Brando wanted Vito Corleone to have jowls like a bulldog so he stuffed cotton balls in his mouth. It seemed producers liked it so they had a dental plumper made.

The first one made of foam latex was more comfortable to wear but it made Brando's face look soft and droopy so it was remade in steel and resin.

Vintage Krampus gloves

These gloves were made from goat hair and antlers. They were made in a small town in Austria where they were used at the annual Krampus festival for over 70 years.

This is a late Victorian art pottery known as Martinware

In the late 19th century in London, Robert Wallce Martin and his three eccentric brothers made and sold these strange, Gothic-inspired pottery sculptures. This creepy smiling crab is considered a masterpiece and the pinnacle of their unique style which has made it highly sought after.

In fact, the UK even banned its export because it was deemed to be of such high national significance.

Doll heads waiting to have their eyelashes trimmed

This was photographed in a doll factory in Hong Kong in the 1970s.

A 15th century painting of St. Bartholomew wearing his flayed skin as a robe after being skinned alive

It was painted by Matteo di Giovanni.

Willem Frederik Van Royen, 'The Carrot' (1699), oil on canvas. Märkisches Museum, Berlin

This was from the Dutch Golden Age which also birthed masterpieces like Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring."

Creepy chocolate babies made as Christmas gifts in 1923

These were discovered in a chest of drawers by Charles Hanson, a British auctioneer. Obviously, the reason they were not eaten and kept out of sight was because they were too scary to eat.

Mechanized Gorilla teeth and head gear worn by Gorilla impersonator Ray 'Crash' Corrigan in White Pongo

The gear and teeth were tied around the actor's face so they'd sit underneath his gorilla suit. Wires an levers attached to the impersonator's jaw and cheeks would make the gorilla's mouth open, nostrils snort, and lips snarl.

An impression of a supernatural face on a tray of putty made by Italian psychic Eusapia Palladino

The psychic claims to have made the faces during a seance in 1897 using telekinesis while her hands were bound behind her back. Skeptics have noted though that the faces looked like Palladino and her male assistant.

Sculpture of screaming baby

Hendrick De Keyser was a Dutch sculptor and architect who was inspired by a screaming baby's forehead veins.

All of these things are definitely not common everyday items and a lot of them are even unsettling. But well, that's humanity for us, isn't it?

What might seem nice and pretty for someone can seem weird to a whole other generation? We've all got our tastes after all and well, times change as well.

Liezel