Toilet History Museum
The Toilet History Museum is a private museum in Kyiv, Ukraine that contains the largest collection of toilet-related souvenirs and items in the world, including historic chamber pots, squatting pans, and urinals. The museum was founded in 2006 by a Ukrainian couple who worked in the plumbing business and is currently housed in a building within the Kiev Fortress. In 2016, the Guinness Book of Records recognized it as "the largest collection of souvenir toilet bowls in the world".[1]
київського Музею історії туалету | |
official logo of the Toilet History Museum | |
some of the Museum's collection, 2019 | |
Established | 2006 |
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Location | Rybalska str. 22 Tower №5 Kiev, Ukraine |
Type | History museum |
Owner | Nikolay and Marina Bogdanenko |
Website | nmiu |
Background
The museum was created by Nikolay and Marina Bogdanenko, a Ukrainian couple who had previously worked in the plumbing supply business and wanted to teach people about the enduring importance of hygiene.[2][3] It opened in 2006 with items that the Bogdanenkos had collected from around the world, many while on vacation. In 2013 Bogdanenko published a 521-page book on the history of hygiene and toiletry, World History (of Toilets). Today, the museum draws an estimated 1,000 visitors per month and is housed in the Kiev Fortress, a building which dates to the 19th Century.[4]
Organization
The museum covers the toilet from prehistoric times to the present day and related topics, including the dressing room and clothes worn to clean toilets.[5] Exhibits are arranged sequentially, dividing history into Primitive Society, Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance, XVII-XX century, Modernity, and Art Water Closets. The museum has replicas of some of the first toilet seats and explains the invention of toilet paper more than 2,000 years ago in China.[6] A display shows visitors waste disposal methods from medieval castles and why medieval toilets were called wardrobes.[4] The flushing toilet, first sketched by Leonardo da Vinci, is brought to life in a wood model.[4][7] A separate room contains a movie theater that shows videos about toilets in alternating languages.[2][8] There are more than 580 items in the permanent collection, which earned it recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2016.[1]
External links
References
- "The Kiev Museum of Toilet History has entered the Guinness Book of Records]". ZIK. Lviv. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- Nikoloz Bezhanishvili (21 September 2015). "Museum of the toilet received a certificate of Guinness World Records". UGA. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- Sean Williams (21 September 2015). "HAVING A SH*T TIME IN KIEV". ozy. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- Nikoloz Bezhanishvili (3 July 2015). "Toilet History Museum". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- Nikoloz Bezhanishvili and Giorgi Lomsadze (21 September 2015). "A long history of toilets in Ukraine museum". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- Nikoloz Bezhanishvili (21 September 2015). "Museums in Kiev Toilet Museum". Primetour. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- Alina Khvorostyan. "Museum of toilet's history in Kyiv, Ukraine". AFAR. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- Nikoloz Bezhanishvili (3 July 2015). "Tamada Travels: Ukraine's Toilet History Museum". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2018.