Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, is devoted to a huge collection of coin-operated animatronic dummies, mechanical games and other oddities. Exhibits include, for example, the classic gypsy Fortune teller machine that used to grace many a carnival sideshow. Most of the machines still function, so visitors are encouraged to bring change.[1] The museum's founder, Marvin Yagoda, has been collecting the items that populate the 5,500-square-foot (510 m2) museum for 50 years.[2] Yagoda is a recognized expert in the field of mechanical and electrical game apparatus; he has been involved in appraisal of such items for the television series American Pickers.[3][4]

Amongst the collection is P.T. Barnum's version of the Cardiff Giant.[5][6]

Another oddity is one of Sing Sing Prison's Electric Chairs in which 30 people died.[7]

An automaton "food inspector" is set up to continuously vomit into a pile of milk bottles.[8]

Tally Hall, a rock band from nearby Ann Arbor, has titled an album after the museum.

There is a confederate flag and an Israeli flag inside the museum.

Notes

  1. Semion, Bill (September 1, 2000). Hundreds of Ideas for Day Trips with the Kids (6th ed.). Globe Pequot. p. 352. ISBN 0762708085. Retrieved August 4, 2011. ISBN 978-0762708086
  2. Godfrey, Linda S.; Moran, Mark; Sceurman, Mark (2006). Weird Michigan: Your Travel Guide to Michigan's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets (hardcover). New York: Sterling Publishing. ISBN 1402739079. Retrieved August 4, 2011. ISBN 9781402739071
  3. Marvin Yagoda (2008). "1972 Nutting Associates Computer Space". Archived from the original on January 30, 2009.
  4. Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum spot on American Pickers television show
  5. "Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum". RoadsideAmerica.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  6. Nicklell, Joe (May–June 2009), "Cardiff's Giant Hoax", Skeptical Inquirer 33 (3)
  7. Faraci, Devin (December 16, 2011). "Hit The Road: Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum". BadAssDigest. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  8. "Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum Atlas Obscura". Retrieved January 16, 2013.

See also

External links

Coordinates: 42°31′31″N 83°21′42″W / 42.52525°N 83.3618°W / 42.52525; -83.3618

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.