Check Out the Pickled Heart of a Saint

Museums carry exquisite and vital objects, artifacts, and artwork that allow us to better understand our history and our present. They also carry more niche items, like Einstein's brain and the skin of a tattooed man. Oddities make museums far more interesting, which is saying a lot. Here are 20 weirdest historical objects in museums.

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1. Napoleon's Toothbrush

Napoleon's small ivory-handled toothbrush can be viewed as part of the Wellcome Collection in London. This intimate item reminds people that the tiny emperor had a daily life outside of the battlefield. 

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2. The Mummified Hand of a Saint

Housed in the Walters Art Museum, this preserved hand of a Christian saint can be viewed by guests who might be looking for something a bit more macabre. This artifact was revered in the medieval world as a holy object of healing and protection.

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3. Shrunken Heads

The Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford, UK, has several tsantas, or shrunken heads. These heads were created by the Shuar people of Ecuador. They were once used in rituals and warfare and preserved as trophies and spiritual objects.

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4. The Pickled Heart of a Saint

St. Laurence O'Toole's heart is preserved in a container and on display at the National Museum of Ireland. It was actually stolen in 2012, only to be later recovered. To many, this is the strangest relic on view at this or any museum.

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5. Einstein's Brain

After Einstein died in 1955, his brain was removed and preserved for scientific study. The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia houses slices of it. This was deemed controversial at the time and sparked debate about consent and ethics. 

Photograph by Orren Jack Turner, Princeton, N.J. Modified with Photoshop by PM_Poon and later by Dantadd. on Wikimedia

6. A Mummified Cat

Ancient Egypt's reverence for cats went far beyond contemporary cat ownership. Cats were often buried with their owners or mummified as offerings to gods. You can see feline mummies at the British Museum in London.

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7. The Bullet that Killed Lincoln

Ford's Theater Museum in Washington, D.C., preserves many artifacts and objects from the night of Lincoln's assassination. One artifact is the bullet that entered his skull and ended his life. Encased by glass, this small piece of lead is a chilling sight to behold. 

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8. The Head of Jeremy Bentham

The preserved head of philosopher Jeremy Bentham is one of the strangest displays at University College London. It's only occasionally displayed, as it wasn't a totally successful preservation and turned out poorly. A wax replica is on display for the remainder of the time.

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9. The Skin of a Tattooed Man

At the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C., you can look at a truly unsettling exhibit. This museum houses preserved human skin with elaborate tattoos and demonstrates how 19th-century scientists collected unusual specimens. 

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10. A Medieval "Vampire" Skull

This skull is displayed at the Archaeological Museum of Venice with a brick in its mouth.

It was discovered in a plague pit and is referred to as a vampire skull since corpses with unusual features were labeled as "vampires" in medieval Europe. 

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11. Victorian Hair Jewelry

In Victorian England, locks of hair from loved ones were woven into jewelry for remembrance. The Museum of London displays a collection of rings, necklaces, and brooches made from human hair. 

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12. Mummified Crocodiles

The Egyptian Museum preserved crocodile mummies, which were offerings to the crocodile-headed god, Sobek. Some are only tiny hatchlings, while others are enormous reptiles wrapped in linen.

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13. Peter the Great's Tooth Collection

Peter the Great extracted teeth from his courtiers and kept them in a collection to satisfy his fascination with medicine. The teeth are on display at the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg, and it's a grotesque and mesmerizing thing to see.

Attributed to Jean-Marc Nattier on Wikimedia

14. The Crying Boy Painting

Believed to be cursed, this 20th-century painting is rumored to have survived house fires while everything else burned to ash. A replica of this painting is exhibited in Turin, Italy, at the Museo dell'Immagine, where it draws legions of superstitious visitors.

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15. The Head of a Pickled Mermaid

This so-called "mermaid" is, in reality, a grotesque taxidermy hoax. It was created by sewing the upper half of a monkey to the tail of a fish, and is on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich in the UK.

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16. Mummified Rats

Animal mummies are common, but the Natural History Museum of Vienna houses mummified rats that were discovered in old buildings. Their shrivelled form are both odd and a testament to the natural preservation power of dry environments.

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17. The "Soap Lady"

This 19th-century woman's corpse underwent a natural process called adipocere formation, which turned her body fat into a soap-like substance. She has become one of the Mütter Museum's strangest exhibits.

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18. The Iron Mask

The Musée de l'Armée in Paris exhibits an iron prisoner's mask that is believed to have inspired the legend of "The Man in the Iron Mask". It was most likely a muzzle for prisoners rather than a royal mystery, but the object is laced with dark intrigue and a touch of the macabre. 

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19. The Severed Head of Henry IV

Once thought to be lost, the preserved head of French King Henry IV was found in the 20th century and is now displayed at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris. The embalmed remains still show some faint facial features.

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20. The Gallstone of a French Revolutionary

At the Hunterian Museum, you can view a massive gallstone that was removed from a French revolutionary. It's bigger than a chicken egg and is a glimpse into the gruesome medical specimens once collected for study.