There are roughly 11,000 Starbucks locations in the United States, and about 14,000 McDonald's restaurants. But combined, the two chains don't come close to the number of museums in the U.S., which stands at a whopping 35,000.
So says the latest data release from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent government agency that tallies the number and type of museums in this country. [...] the 35,000 active museums represent a doubling from the number estimated in the 1990s.
— washingtonpost.com
14 Comments
wow. that's surprising
That's very surprising. If only people stopped off at a museum as frequently as they stopped off at a Starbucks.
And spent a even fraction of the money.
Not surprising if they counted such dynamic cultural institutions as The Museum of Menstruation & Women's Health in New Carrollton, Maryland or the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum in La Crosse, KS. There's also The Vent Haven Ventriloquist Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky and The SPAM (the kind some people eat) Museum in Austin, Minnesota.
All of which are certainly far more enjoyable than both Starbucks and McDonald's.
Miles how could you post that list without images? (in your order)
Omg thats the scariest thing ive ever seen!
That audience of ventriloquist dummies?!? Indeed it is. God lord. Awesome.
(Thanks for those pics, Olaf!)
So, we're not supposed to go to the fun, pop, vernacular museums, right? Unless it's ironically and to mock? I don't want to make any mistakes here...
citiaen: WWB(ob)V(enturi)D?
Sorry for the snark, Donna; I need more coffee.
Sometimes I wonder a little at the bottom-up vilification of elitism and corporate greed and aesthetic philistinism here... then turn around and read some of the mockery made of popular taste from the top-down. It seems we move from the masses to the elite at will, depending on the issue.
citizen, seriously - comparing museums with McDonald's?
Sorry, Olaf, too hard to do on the i(diot)Pad. Every time I try to cut and paste a link I lose my original text. *&^%$# Apple garbage.
Sorry for misspelling your name, citizen!
I can't speak for Venturi or for the collective "we" but I loooove these kinds of museums. I'd go to the Museum of Barbed Wire in a heartbeat.
Isn't there a museum of taxidermied squirrels? Ah, here it is - sadly, now closed and the collection sold at auction.
I love when things go full circle.
McDonalds First Store Museum
Amit Sood: Building a museum of museums on the web
Google googled Qoundam?
https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/project/art-project
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.