Thursday, May 12, 2016

Museum of the Weird- Austin Texas

The Museum of the Weird in Austin Texas was one of the few places in town that I HAD to visit.  It has been WAY up on my list for some time.

I think I first heard about the place from Loren Coleman.  His endorsement caries a lot of weight in my books when it comes to weird road trips and legends.

That mention happened a couple of years back when the Museum of the Weird acquired the LEGENDARY Minnesota Iceman.  I will get to the Iceman in a moment.


The Museum houses all sorts of odd mummified creatures and other items, most made to resemble something else.  The usual, but always fun Fiji mermaids are here, along with cool fairy fossils, turtle boys, demons, etc.  Sure- fakes, gaffs, and folklore relics are all around, but most are very well done.  I personally really enjoy admiring these odd works of art while thinking about the "maybes" or "what ifs" that they suggest.

After spending time exploring the museum, we were able to watch an old "Unsolved Mysteries" clip about the main attraction, the Minnesota Iceman.

At this point, we were introduced to a guide, who escorted us to see the actual Minnesota Iceman.

You can search the web and find a ton of info on the Iceman.  In fact, I strongly encourage you to.  Short story- A "missing link" creature frozen in a block of ice was shown around carnivals and fairs in the 1960s and 70s.  Some people strongly felt that this was a real deal caveman.  Others felt it was a fake.

Well, the Museum of the Weird has found the Iceman, and he is on display there today!  He is in the one area of the museum where photos are not allowed.  You can look at him all you want though!

After the viewing of the Iceman, we were taken past an apartment above the museum where Johnny Depp once lived (that's pretty weird).  Then, we went into a small theater, where our host revealed that he is a bit of a performer himself, and he did a very weird performance telling jokes, and hammering things into his nose.  He also put his hand in a bear trap.


We definitely felt that we had gotten our twelve dollars worth at the Museum of the Weird after this performance. 








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