Leroy (Robert) Ripley was an artist and explorer born in 1890. He travelled the world seeking bizzare and unusual items to put into his international cartoon.
You tend to see the same stuff in every museum....but I still like the old classics. There are his shrunken head collections from South America. I found this one to be interesting because it is negroid and therefore was a poor African slave who had been unwillingly brought to that continent and then had the further misfortune of being beheaded by Indian natives.
Of course you must see the coiled-neck women and their X-rays which reveal that the "stretched" necks are only an illusion. It is the clavicle bone and ribs which have been forced in a downward position which gives the appearance of an elongated neck.
Of course no exhibit would be complete without the African exhibits of self-mutilation with the lip and ear pearcing. Of course, now it popular to see middle-aged women with tattoos and piercings which only goes to show that what is old is new again!
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