Mystery Objects | MUSEUM FATIGUE

The Strange Case of Nanjing Bicycle Sacrifice

September 27, 2017 by Museum Fatigue

On two separate occasions, in different parts of Nanjing, I have observed a local practice of bicycle use that is a sad commentary on value and waste in urban Nanjing—bicycles chained to the ground along the side of the road as ritual sacrifice. While they were created to be ridden for transportation and enjoyment, the sad, twisted objects with their tortured frames pegged to the ground will never again be used as a means of locomotion. Their “bicycleness” has been […]

Categories: Bicycling, China, Mystery Objects, Ruins • Tags: automobiles, Nanjing, parking, trash

Mystery Object #23: Menu of Fake Stuff

April 24, 2016 by Museum Fatigue

This morning while cleaning my office I found an item I collected a few years ago while in Shanghai which I immediately thought should be considered a Mystery Object. It is a “menu of fake stuff” that I acquired from one of the many salespeople of knockoff consumer goods who troll the length of Nanjing Road. To walk the street as a foreigner is to be constantly accosted by the salespeople who slide up next to you, flip out a […]

Categories: Fakes and Forgeries, Mystery Objects • Tags: China

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Mystery Object #22: Pop Cowboy UniSex Shampoo

January 19, 2015 by Museum Fatigue

After a long day on the road, we checked in to our hotel in Pailn—a small town near the border with Thailand—and the first thing I wanted to do was take a shower. So, imagine my surprise when I found two mystery objects on the back of the toilet seat. On the front of the single use packages was written—”Pop Cowboy UniSex” featuring a cowboy and a cowgirl(?) together with the symbols ♀ and ♂ in pink. The cowboy even […]

Categories: Advertising, Bodies, Mystery Objects • Tags: cowboy, product, sexuality

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Mystery Object #21: Frosted Turkey Cake

November 27, 2014 by Museum Fatigue

This Thanksgiving featured something that I just couldn’t resist adding to my online collection of mystery objects—a cake frosted to look like a roast turkey, complete with frosted lettuce and carrot garnish. (I took a photo of it next to a butter dish for effect.) Why anyone would ever want a cake-shaped meat is beyond me, but its curious existence was a source of joy for folks assembled at our Thanksgiving table. Such a unique sugary creation harkens back to […]

Categories: Food, Mystery Objects • Tags: Sidney Mintz, sugar, Thanksgiving, turkey

Mystery Object #20: The Goat Almighty

August 2, 2014 by Museum Fatigue

The first night of this summer’s road trip we stopped in Chicago and enjoyed a meal at The Little Goat. As I often do, I asked the waiter to suggest something on the menu that is unique to the restaurant that I would regret not trying. Our server suggested the “Goat Almighty” a huge stack with a goat burger, braised beef, bbq pork, pickled jalapeños, salsa verde, onion rings and cheddar cheese. It was really a crazy thing to […]

Categories: Consumption, Food, Mystery Objects • Tags: burger, excess, Goat Almighty, The Little Goat

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Mystery Object #19: Breasts and Personal Technology

May 31, 2014 by Museum Fatigue

Subject to continual upgrade cycles and constant and dependable obsolesce, our personal technology resist the attachment and love that we develop for them. While we take them everywhere and learn to depend on them for communication, entertainment and even to find a bite to eat—the technology pushes back and resists our advances—never retaining the object-histories that might give them human meaning over time. With no history our personal technology never develop the patinas of value that speak to their interaction […]

Categories: Bodies, Gender, Mystery Objects, Technology • Tags: accessories, affection, breasts, crack chic, iPhone, mouse pad, personal technology, puni puni, steampunk

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Mystery Object #18: Foreigner Costume

May 30, 2014 by Museum Fatigue

“Hi, I’m a foreigner.” Over twenty years ago, while shopping at a store in Japan I came across a party novelty “foreigner” (gaijin) costume set–for dressing as a foreigner at parties. In this case it meant a specific kind of foreigner. The set came complete with a large white nose and two tape-on blue eyes. I immediately bought the kit figuring that I would use it in a future anthropology class. Unfortunately the costume got lost in some move or […]

Categories: Bodies, Mystery Objects, Race, Representation, Toys • Tags: blue eyes, costume, gaijin, nose

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Mystery Object #17: The Walking Taco

May 4, 2014 by Museum Fatigue

This weekend while at the Comic Con in Minneapolis I happened upon the most fascinating food abomination—The Walking Taco. It is basically a bag of Doritos sliced along one side with a scoop of meat, topped with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, cheese and a dollop of sour cream. While I was happy to see that the food didn’t generate tons of trash by using disposable styrofoam and plastic, that joy was tempered by the fact that the “food” was basically […]

Categories: Food, Mystery Objects • Tags: Doritos, fast food, Walking Taco

Mystery Object #16: Chocolate Cross for Easter

April 13, 2014 by Museum Fatigue

While at the checkout counter at a local grocery store last week I noticed a chocolate cross for sale as Easter candy. Made by a well-known local chocolatier, Abdallah, it immediately it struck me as curious. I suppose the sweet object could be interpreted as a creative extension of the chocolate Easter bunny into the realm of religious observance. As religious icon the cross is a powerful religious symbol—indeed evoking the death and ascendence of a God—the cornerstone of […]

Categories: Mystery Objects • Tags: Abdallah Chocolates, chocolate, cross, Easter, holiday, Sidney Mintz, sugar

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Mystery Object #15: The Spider-Man Fes in Fes

December 29, 2013 by Museum Fatigue

Today, while walking in the old city of Fes, I happened upon a person selling fine festival clothing–including some fezzes. I don’t know why I have been so interested in finding a fes in Fes, but I imagine it has something to do with going to the Shriner’s Circus as a kid. The fes and the Shriners, are well-known symbols of 19th century American Orientalism–the Orientalism of male secret societies with exotic clothing, rituals, cloaks and hats. It is an […]

Categories: Mystery Objects • Tags: Fes, festival, Fez, Marvel Comics, Morocco, Orientalism, Spiderman

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