Mark Hendriksen

Poop Museums: Some while back we highlighted, ‘Pooseum‘ an inspired visitor attraction located (down under) in Australia. It’s a tough time for practically every museum impacted by covid-19 having to be closed, so we thought it a great time to introduce or rather re-introduce you to the best of the Poop Museums, and even a theme park or two. They’ve all survived so far and we wanted to add some support by dedicating this post to them and giving each one a plug in ‘The Daily Poo!‘ For our readers, it’s also an opportunity to read about something other than toilet paper, which still seems to be taking up the headlines.

‘The Shit Museum’: This remarkable museum was established in 2015 when it first opened in Italy. It’s the ‘Shit Museum‘ [okay that’s the translation, in Italian it’s, ‘Il Museo della Merda!‘] ‘The Shit Museum’ even has its own tv section, yep, it’s called ‘Shit TV.’ But don’t imagine this is anything but an extraordinary story, you can check out just how ‘on trend’ they are with all matters poop and poop products, cool designs, ethics, recycling and innovation by looking at their ‘news and stories.’ This is an impressive place that we happened to come upon after a visit to the V&A in London having seen their MerdaCotta in the ‘FOOD: Bigger than the Plate‘ exhibition last year. To quote from their about page, ‘With constant innovation and new commissions, this area brings together testimonies of aesthetic, scientific human and animal experiences, both of today and of yesteryear, in which shit is a useful and living material. From the dung beetle, considered divine by the Egyptians (and symbol of the Museum itself), to the use of dung in architecture, from ancient Italian civilisations to those in Africa, via historical-literary works such as Pliny’s Naturalis Historia. Right up to the latest scientific research and works of art drawing on the use and reuse of waste and discarded materials, the Museum is a contemporary cabinet of curiosities which finds its main guide in the science and art of transformation.‘ Castelbosco by Gianantonio Locatelli. This is a must see!

Perhaps the most significant and important museum of all is the ‘Museum of Toilets‘ in New Delhi, India created by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak founder of Sulabh International. ‘Founded in 1970 by Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, Sulabh’s contribution in the field of sanitation is both monumental in scale and historical in its application of human rights framing to sanitation. Dr. Pathak’s foray into sanitation was in response to tackle the deep rooted discrimination, abuse and stigma faced by a community of people – known as manual scavengers – who cleaned dry latrines manually and were labelled as untouchables.‘ The Museum has a rare collection of facts, pictures and objects detailing the historic evolution of toilets from 2500 BC to date. It provides a chronological account of developments relating to technology, toilet related social customs, toilet etiquettes, prevailing sanitary conditions and legislative efforts of the times. It has an extensive display of privies, chamber-pots, toilet furniture, bidets and water closets in use from 1145 AD to the modern times. Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, Sociologist and Social Reformer and Founder of the Sulabh Sanitation Movement has helped 1000s and 1000s of people to have public sanitation.

‘Pooseum’: This Australian attraction was the first Pooseum that we ever wrote about. It isn’t easy to get an attraction about poop off the ground and we’d loved Karin Koch‘s enthusiasm and determination to put the museum on the map (she’s the creator and owner of ‘Pooseum.’) It’s only now we’ve got around to checking out all the others we can find. What it has clearly illustrated is that this one of a kind experience is set to be appearing in more and more countries in the not too distant future. For those of you who’ve heard of ‘PooPourri‘ you’ll also be aware of ‘how big poo is in marketing and creativity these days’ (and yes, that is quite a difficult line to read correctly.) Karen’s brand line, ‘Where Talking about Poo is not Taboo‘ is very much in line with our thinking and also why Mark (post editor) has written four kids books on the subject. Karen created a science museum dedicated entirely to the intriguing world of animal droppings, but also plus a whole lot more as she’s on a serious mission to educate visitors about the fascinating world of poo. It’s fun for all ages by combining that perfect mix of engagement, education and entertainment.

‘The National Poo Museum‘: Had its first exhibition back in 2015 having been created (with a lot of dedication) by members of the artist collective Eccleston George. It now has a permanent home at Sandown on the Isle of Wight, UK. This unconventional ‘poo-seum‘ is where visitors can see and/or hold poo of all shapes and sizes. Poo from the 21st century going back millions of years ago and from all sorts of animals as well as us humans too. Head to the Isle of Wight where visitors can discover the magic and secrets that live within poo as they ‘Pass Through the World of No. 2s.’

‘The Poo Museum’: The most recent to hit the headlines (albiet they’ve been around for a few years) is, ‘Unko Tokyo‘ (Yokohama) Japan, ‘The Poo Museum.’ Originally a ‘Pop-up Museum’ (Poop-up) it had to close temporarily with the outbreak of coronavirus but ingeniously, and with maximum use of the word ‘un‘ [one of the Japanese words for poo], they’ve taken the museum online. You can log in here (if you’re good at Japanese, or Japanese.) The Unko Museum opens May 1 2020 at 1pm and is part of the ‘stay at home week.’ Here’s their website (it’s in English too) and you can also follow them on instagram and on twitter @unko_museum

‘Poopoo Land’: Although currently closed, in South Korea there’s a theme park called, ‘Poopoo Land‘ in Seoul and Busan where the poo pleasures include; ‘Various Photo Zones‘ (see below) a ‘Dynamic Digestive Maze,’ and ‘An Exciting Poo Party‘ place… All of which I’m sure you’re imagining without even having clicked the link! 😉 We loved the strapline, ‘The facilities related to poopoo in Poopoo Land will provide you with special experiences that you cannot gain from other places‘ and that’s for sure.

Way back we mentioned Tirdy Works in Maine, USA. Tirdy Works sells gifts made out of moose poop, their success has led to their own tv channel and the first episode of is airing on Tuesday May 5th on TruTV at 10pm EST [see the trailer on youtube here.] Although it’s not a museum the fact ‘their shit has hit the fan'(base) made us feel it deserved flagging up again. If you can’t see it on tv, enjoy the above trailer!

We think that covers it from top… to bottom. If we missed anyone out do please get in touch and we can add them to the post! Just before we go, during the #lockdown and #stayhome if you’re getting a ‘bit stuck’ then here’s an article by Brianne Hogan for SheKnows on the ‘The Easiest Exercises for Keeping Your Poop Healthy‘ that may be of help or relief for some! Have a good week and stay well.