Museum Junkie: London’s Science Museum turns 100

by Sean McLachlan on

London’s Science Museum turns 100 this year, and as part of the centeniary celebrations they’re asking for your input on the world’s most important invention.

Their list comes from ten important inventions they have in their museum, like the first x-ray machine developed in 1895, or the Model T Ford that first came off the production line in 1908, or the V2 rocket pictured here, first launched against London by the Nazis in 1944.

Personally. I’d vote for something the techies at the museum didn’t think of–agriculture. Yeah, that was a while ago, but agriculture provided a surplus that allowed some people to do things other than gather food, such as invent all this other stuff. No agriculture, no complex civilization, no technology, and no Gadling. Now there’s a scary thought.

The Science Museum has a massive collection of machines, devices, and widgets for every conceivable purpose. There are a lot of interactive displays, including a mockup of a Japanese supermarket where you can experience an earthquake. It’s one of the best places to take kids in London, along with the Natural History Museum with its weird deep sea fish and animatronic T-Rex. If you want to waste some time at work, take their “What dinosaur are you?” quiz. Apparantly I’m a Baryonyx.

With all this talk about inventions, what about travel? What are the most important inventions for people on the road? The backpack? The airplane? The Internet? Passports? What’s your vote for the most important invention for travelers?

Need a hotdog in Madrid? Try Chicago Hot Dogs

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I know that part of traveling aborad is experiencing new cuisine. And, Madrid‘s a great place to do that. Sometimes, though, you just have a jones for the familiar. Or, you’re in the mood to dine ‘n’ dash. I get it. When you need a quick fix, a hotdog‘s the likely answer, and Chicago Hot Dog in Madrid is ready to deliver.

To be honest, Chicago Hot Dog’s fare did not measure up to Sweden‘s impressive dogs, and it lagged Iceland a bit. Had the hotdogs been a little hotter, though, the gap would have closed some. Similar to the dogs of Scandinavia, the mustard is the main event in Madrid. Maybe it’s a European thing: the mustard at Chicago Hot Dog was creamy and had a hint of cheese flavor (a la Oscar Mayer) … which works. The hotdog itself was quite large, especially compared to those of Iceland and Sweden (but smaller than those I had in France). For Americans, a good rule of thumb at Chicago Hot Dog is 2:1 – two local dogs equals one from home.

Chicago Hot Dog has several locations across the city. One is close to the Museo del Prado, and another is only a block away from Reina Sofia (which is home to Pablo Picasso‘s “Guernica“). So, if you’re short on time while running from one museum to the next, scarf down a hotdog instead of waiting forever for the check at a more authentic establishment, and you’ll maximize your time with the art.

Check out a video of the dining experience after the jump.

Museum Junkie: Smithsonian offers real “Night at the Museum”

by Sean McLachlan on

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., is offering a special weekend tour to coincide with the sure-to-be-hit movie “Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian”.

Visitors will learn the real story behind the sites and artifacts featured in the film during the Smithsonian’s “Family Weekend in Washington, D.C.”, on July 24-26. The weekend starts with a dinner with Amelia Earhart at the National Air and Space Museum, followed the next day by a viewing of the film at the the museum’s Imax theater and a special tour of the museum. The second day of the tour includes visits to sites in Washington, D.C. that feature in the movie such as the National Mall and the Lincoln Memorial.

The weekend is part of the Smithsonian Journeys series that takes people on informative trips around the world, whether it’s the early Christian sites of Greece and Turkey or the coastal wilderness of Alaska. For those wanting to stay closer to home, “Celebrate Smithsonian!” offers a behind-the-scenes tour of America’s greatest museum, including the newly reopened National Museum of American History. The tour is on September 9-12, but it’s best to book ahead.

Museum Junkie: Manchester exhibit on life as a POW

by Sean McLachlan on

A fascinating exhibit on life as a POW has opened at The Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, England.

The exhibition, called “Captured: The Extraordinary Life of Prisoners of War”, combines pictures, artifacts, and real-life anecdotes to give a glimpse into the experiences of prisoners of war from all armies during the Second World War (1939-45). It also features the only known film of German POWs in Britain.

While the exhibition focuses on the daily endurance test POWs had to live through, it also examines some of the famous escapes from notorious German prisons such as Colditz. This castle near Dresden housed Allied POWs who had tried to escape from other prisons. The Nazis considered it impossible to escape from. Several POWs saw it as a challenge and proved the Nazis wrong.

This museum junkie has been to many of The Imperial War Museum’s special exhibitions and has always been impressed. They’re always easy to follow and full of surprises and leave you knowing a lot more than when you arrived. At the permanent exhibition in the museum’s London branch, there’s a recording of an interview with a British soldier who survived a Japanese POW camp. He got terrible sores on his legs and didn’t have any medicine to treat them. Knowing that tea is a disinfectant, he pressed tea bags against the sores. This bit of trivia saved his legs and probably his life.

This latest exhibition is one of a series of events marking the 70th anniversary of the start of World War Two. A list of upcoming events at the museum’s five branches is online here,

“Captured: The Extraordinary Life of Prisoners of War” runs until January 3rd, 2010.

Francis Bacon comes to New York’s Met

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you missed the Francis Bacon exhibit at the Museo Del Prado in Madrid back in the early part of the year, you have a second chance this summer. The reclusive artist, who produced only around 1,000 paintings in his 83-year life, is well represented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, with a large show that traces the artist’s career from a false start in 1933 through his twilight in the 1980s.

The collection is, to say the least, extensive. Each room highlights a period in Bacon’s life, from his haunting work in the 1940s to the “man in a cage” theme that followed. The exhibit also tracks Bacon’s love life, with paintings of George Dyer and John Edwards, for example, in abundance. Surprisingly, the breadth of the New York show is even greater than that of Madrid.

The true success of this show, however, is in the targeted success the Metropolitan Museum of Art realized in securing related paintings. Several of Bacon’s interpretations of Velazquez’s Pope Innocent X work can be viewed side-by-side – a rare treat for Bacon fiends and art lovers in general.

If you can’t make it to Manhattan this summer, don’t worry. The Bacon centennial celebration will continue later this year at the Tate in London.