Top 5 Strange Exhibitions Around the World

Take a break from your stressful everyday life and fascinate yourself at one of these strange exhibitions which amaze millions of people around the world.

Body Worlds Exhibit

This is my most favourite and probably the most bizarre in this list of the strange exhibitions. Body worlds exhibit involves real human corpses, preserved by a process called plastination and presented in unique lifelike poses. It was founded by the German anatomist Gunther von Hagens who first presented his strange exhibition in Tokyo in 1995. Gunther's 'Skinless Wonders', as he likes to call them, are a source of great criticism chiefly from religious backgrounds as they are regarded as a disrespect to human remains.

Sublah International Museum of Toilets

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak is the biggest toilet lover in the world. He is so obsessed with toilets that he even has his own toilet exhibition. The Sublah International Toilet Museum the one-of-a-kind toilet museum in the world which features every aspect of toilets. It covers the evolution of toilets with real life models and various toilet designs from around the world. He aims to educate people about the historical trends in the development of toilets and to understand and solve problems related to sanitation.

Museum of Eroticism

Paris is the first choice of exhibitionists from around the world given to its rich history and vibrant culture but no place puts on a show quite like the Musee de l’Erotisme (French for: Museum of Eroticism), the $ex museum showcasing the art and artefacts describing the evolution of $exual awakening. There are five floors and each floor portrays a  unique theme. Not surprisingly, only adults are allowed to enter.

Carsten Holler's Test Site

Carsten Höller’s largely well known sculpture is made up of five different slides that run from the upper floors of the gallery to ground level. The tallest of them being more than 52ft. Carsten Holler describes his work as a platform of interaction. Holler says that sliding down, especially from the higher levels, was an experience that helps combat stress and depression.

Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments

In the middle ages, torture was a common punishment for all kinds of crimes from raping to murder and above all heresy. The museum of Medieval Torture Instruments is dedicated to showcasing the means by which confessions were extracted from alleged criminals in the European criminal justice system 500 years ago. The museum features more than 60 terrible torture devices in a 45 minute tour which is also loaded with tutorials on how to operate each device.

Body Worlds Exhibit: Gunther Von Hagens Turns Dead into Art

The infamous German anatomist Gunther von Hagens is the man who has earned himself a rather weird reputation of 'Mr. Death' by turning corpses alive. He is the developer and promoter of the Body Worlds exhibit. Body Worlds features dead people engaged in a variety of everyday activities from playing chess to dancing. The skin and several layers of body tissues are peeled in order to give the audience a closer look at the secrets of human life and death.


Body Worlds Exhibit gained a huge global gaze through the 2006, James Bond movie 'Casino Royale'. 
First started in 1995, the Body World has received more than 32 million visitors making it the most popular travelling exhibit in the world. Most of the people who have ever witnessed a Body World exhibit end up asking questions about where the heck they get so many human bodies? If you're troubling with the same question then let me tell you that all the bodies at the Body Worlds come from body donors who authorise their bodies to Body World with their own consent.

The bodies at Body Worlds are prepared and preserved by a special process called plastination which was also invented by Gunther von Hagens. Plastination involves the replacement of muscle water and fat by certain plastics yielding specimens which are odourless, decay-proof and rigid allowing them to be posed in lifelike positions. While people around the world are fascinated by Gunther's unusual art, he's not famous among all of them. The Body Worlds is banned in many parts of the world including Paris and Poland. Gunther von Hagens has faced serious criticism especially from religious groups who object the display of human remains. For many religious groups, the practice is like disrespecting a human corpse.

While religious groups object Gunther's display of human forms, some organisations express their concerns over the source of the bodies. But Gunther has put down all such claims, stating that the bodies come entirely from donors. Gunther von Hagens states that the objective of the Body Worlds is to educate common man about the body leading to better health awareness. But whatever the aim be, Gunther's 'Skinless Wonders' continues to fascinate thousands of eyeballs around the world by bridging the taboos of life and death, making it one of the most strange exhibitions in the world.

Further Reading:

A complete catalog of the Body Worlds. Includes articles by Dr. Gunther von Hagens, Dr. Angelina Whalley, Charleen M. Moor & C. Mackenzie Brown, Dr. Franz Josef Wetz, and Bazon Brock. This is a comprehensive book written by people from Body Worlds itself.

Buy it now on Amazon: Body Worlds - The original exhibition of real human bodies