The Museum collects optimism preserved in the patent record: traps designed for ever more particular mice, engines intended to turn without end, coffins equipped to dispute a diagnosis, cannon aimed carefully at the sky, and harness for the family dog.
Every specimen is a real patent record. Every drawing comes from its source document. Facts are cited, inferences are labeled, and unknowns remain unknown—because an honest blank is part of the collection.
One hundred forty-five mousetrap patents, curated with affection and a straight face.
145 specimens on display
Machines designed to run forever. Each is examined until the books fail to balance.
654 patents in the census
Coffins equipped to dispute a diagnosis: bells, tubes, flags, hatches, lamps.
30 known U.S. specimens
Not departments. The Museum collects machines; these collect everything the machines lived among.
The Archive of Disturbed Houses — Hauntings, as investigated at the time. The haunting was plumbing.
Lost and Found — Reward notices for parrots, cows, and one glass eye of sentimental value.
How It Used to Be Done — The complete instructional cards of 1910, all one hundred.
The Endangered Names List — American first names, tracked to the federal reporting line.
Old School Exams — Could you pass eighth grade in 1895? The Examination Hall is seated.