The Torture room, also had a 'Vampire Killing Kit', which was used to kill a suspected vampire. It contained garlic, a mirror, a pistol, an ivory cross, a bible, a mallet and wooden stake. And the funniest part of the exhibit was the pickled heads, there were two empty jars open in the back, so one could put their head inside the jar and look like a pickled face.
The Vampire killing Kit
The next was the room of Egyptian mummies, where a woman's hand which was mummified with a ring still on it, was on display. There was also a 200-year old mask which was found inside a coffin covering the face of a mummified body and a canopic jar which was used to keep the organs of the mummy, as all the organs of the body were removed before the body was mummified. And the famous mask worn by Pharaohs was also on exhibit. This exhibit was truly fascinating.
Abrahan Lincoln exhibit, followed the Egyptian exhibit. There were pictures of the president, the gun which was used to shoot him and even the piece of the curtain, from the balcony of the theater where he was sitting with his wife when he was killed. And a lock of his hair preserved and the pictures of convicts who were hanged for the assassination. Even more surprising was to see locks of hair of Napoleon Bonaparte and many other presidents of United States. A dress made of egg whiskers, blanket made of brand tags and a jacket made of flags of different countries, were extraordinary.
A bit tired, we sat in the auditorium and saw some of the famous Ripleys videos. After a while, we went to see the other exhibit, there were statues of African gods of fertility and a huge spear carved out of single piece of wood. A corset on a dummy was on exhibit depicting the ill-effects of tightly worn corsets by women in earlier days, when a 13 inch waist was considered best as ordered by a queen. So women in those days used to squeeze into a corset to look acceptable, and they had even mentioned an incidence - where a women with the acceptable 13'' waist, was the center of attraction of a party and after two days she died because she starved herself to fit into the even tighter corset.
Two skulls kept in a glass tank, looked like their heads were molded, and was called as Peruvian Trepany Skull, 500 A.D. These skulls bear the signs of head-binding to beautify and shape the skull and this practice was followed in Peru in those days. The other display shows more cruelty, the Golden Lily Slippers from 19th century China, where the daughters of wealthy families from the age of 3 were made to wear these shoes by breaking their feet and bound so tightly that their toes touched their heels. And because of this, the women couldn't walk properly and standing for long was almost impossible (strange !!).
There were even more cruel ways of beautifying women like the Paudaung Neck Rings, which were worn by women in Burma from the age of 5 to 25, to elongate their necks which was a sign of wealth and status, but it actually deformed their rib cages and the other was the- the disks worn by Ubangi women of Chad, Africa- as these wooden disks were inserted into their mouths which extended their lips to huge proportions as a sign of beauty and status in the tribe.
Paudaung Neck Rings and disks worn by Ubangi women of Chad
The next was the room of Egyptian mummies, where a woman's hand which was mummified with a ring still on it, was on display. There was also a 200-year old mask which was found inside a coffin covering the face of a mummified body and a canopic jar which was used to keep the organs of the mummy, as all the organs of the body were removed before the body was mummified. And the famous mask worn by Pharaohs was also on exhibit. This exhibit was truly fascinating.
Abrahan Lincoln exhibit, followed the Egyptian exhibit. There were pictures of the president, the gun which was used to shoot him and even the piece of the curtain, from the balcony of the theater where he was sitting with his wife when he was killed. And a lock of his hair preserved and the pictures of convicts who were hanged for the assassination. Even more surprising was to see locks of hair of Napoleon Bonaparte and many other presidents of United States. A dress made of egg whiskers, blanket made of brand tags and a jacket made of flags of different countries, were extraordinary.
A bit tired, we sat in the auditorium and saw some of the famous Ripleys videos. After a while, we went to see the other exhibit, there were statues of African gods of fertility and a huge spear carved out of single piece of wood. A corset on a dummy was on exhibit depicting the ill-effects of tightly worn corsets by women in earlier days, when a 13 inch waist was considered best as ordered by a queen. So women in those days used to squeeze into a corset to look acceptable, and they had even mentioned an incidence - where a women with the acceptable 13'' waist, was the center of attraction of a party and after two days she died because she starved herself to fit into the even tighter corset.
Two skulls kept in a glass tank, looked like their heads were molded, and was called as Peruvian Trepany Skull, 500 A.D. These skulls bear the signs of head-binding to beautify and shape the skull and this practice was followed in Peru in those days. The other display shows more cruelty, the Golden Lily Slippers from 19th century China, where the daughters of wealthy families from the age of 3 were made to wear these shoes by breaking their feet and bound so tightly that their toes touched their heels. And because of this, the women couldn't walk properly and standing for long was almost impossible (strange !!).
There were even more cruel ways of beautifying women like the Paudaung Neck Rings, which were worn by women in Burma from the age of 5 to 25, to elongate their necks which was a sign of wealth and status, but it actually deformed their rib cages and the other was the- the disks worn by Ubangi women of Chad, Africa- as these wooden disks were inserted into their mouths which extended their lips to huge proportions as a sign of beauty and status in the tribe.
