15 Curious Things From Museums That Can Give You a Year’s Worth of Impressions

Now we definitely know what Uber would’ve looked like in the eighteenth century, what a witch’s home was like, and what a really-really old pepper pot from the past looked like, all thanks to virtual trips around the most famous museums of the world. There are some really awesome things to look at here.

We at Bright Side are convinced that in museums, you can go through as many emotions as you would on a rollercoaster because some facts and stories are truly breathtaking. And at the end of the article, there is a bonus section showing what ancient Roman and Greek statues really looked like.

This loaf of bread from Pompeii has a crazy history: A baker put it into the oven right before the Vesuvius eruption. It solidified under a layer of ash and 2,000 years later, it was found by archaeologists.

Here’s the recipe for this bread:

• 600 g sourdough
• 4 tsp sugar
• 4 tsp salt
• 500 ml water
• 500 g buckwheat flour
• 500 g wholemeal or plain flour

Watch this video to find out how to cook this bread.

Toy horse, the Roman period, 30 BCE

A really old pepper pot: it was made in the Roman period, in 300-400 CE.

This is the oldest straw hat in the world — it’s 1,500 years old. Some researchers think it’s not a hat but a bowl from Egypt, around 427-557 CE.

Ceramic pillow, Korea, twelfth-thirteenth century — it probably helped people cool down in summer.

A puzzle ball carved from a single piece of Indian elephant ivory, China in the nineteenth century.

A wedding ring — the house with the open roof probably symbolizes a couple’s life, from the US, the 1800s.

Skirt lifter — a grip that lifts a big skirt to prevent it from going on the ground, from the nineteenth century.

Here’s the eighteenth-century Uber: this decorated chair was carried by 2 people since European streets were too narrow.

The inkwell of Catherine the Great looks like a sofa (gold, heliotrope, pearl), Paris, the 1700s.

These glasses were made by the Dolgans to protect the eyes from the Arctic sun, made of metal, beads, and buckskin, from the nineteenth century.

This is the modern version of the 8-legged dolls that were popular in the nineteenth century. The dress covered the legs and it seemed that the doll could walk.

In 1915, an elderly lady gave this bottle to the Pitt Rivers museum and said there was a witch inside and if someone opened it, they would have big trouble.

A branch of red currant (gold, jade, and mountain crystal) from the company of Carl Fabergé, Russia, the beginning of the twentieth century.

And finally, proof that cats are always incredibly cute, a jade piece, second-third century CE.

Bonus: The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston showed what ancient Roman and Greek statues looked like in the past (they were painted)!

The experts of the museum conducted an analysis of the Athena Parthenos marble statue (the second or third century CE and created a digital reconstruction showing what Athena may have looked like 1,000 years ago.

What piece of art in a museum made an incredible impression on you? Tell us in the comment section below!