Archive for the ‘Destinations’ Category
Treasure Hunting for Antique Bottles
January 3rd, 2010 | 
Author: 
David Cowley asked:
Milk Bottles
To some, old bottles are just junk taking up space on the windowsills of the kitchen. They truly don’t appreciate the craftsmanship that typically went into making these items, which was usually done by hand. Of course there are other reasons why someone would be interested in antique bottles, and it has to do with more than just how the bottles were made.
Antique bottles are truly a part of history. The different types of bottles tell a story about a particular industry or way of life. For example, medicinal bottles tell us how far the medical industry has come since many elements are now stored in plastic bags. Seeing an old glass IV bottle can take you back decades. There are antique bottles from the pharmaceutical industry that have the name of the chemical and even poison warnings worked right into the bottle’s design. This is so different from items today where everything is printed on adhesive labels and attached to the bottle itself.
It can be said too that antique bottles are a part of true Americana. Old Coca-Cola or Pepsi-Cola bottles can remind one of the time when sodas were actually sold in glass bottles and were enjoyed at a real soda counter. Other types of antique bottles that are valuable to collectors include vinegar bottles, whiskey bottles, torpedo bottles, cosmetic bottles, and of course beer bottles. To collectors, a bottle that is in good shape and that is an unusual shape or color is very valuable and some can sell for literally tens of thousands of dollars.
Bitters Bottles
There are of course antique bottles that are appreciated for their design and workmanship. For instance, bitters are an old type of medicine that were made from herbs and roots and were called that because of their bitter taste. The bottles they were contained in were often shaped like log cabins, ears of corn, women’s figures, or even a pig. These types of antique bottles are valued for their different colors as well as their shapes. You just don’t see that much detail put into a bottle any longer! If you can imagine a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup, you have an idea of what old bitters bottles were shaped like.
Antique bottles can be found all across the United States. Good locations include ghost towns, old dumps, old houses, old homesteads, antique stores and the campsites on the trails that the early pioneers used to cross the United States.
Bocksbeutel Bottles
Before you start treasure hunting for these valuable antiques I suggest that you pay a visit to the National Bottle Museum at 76 Milton Avenue, Ballston Spa, NY, to learn the early bottle making methods. The museum sponsors a antique bottle show every June and dealers and collectors from all over the world attend. At the very least you can visit the museums web site.
Many of the more valuable bottles were produced in the 1800s and were handmade and no two are exactly alike. Bottles are appreciated for their look and for the visual appeal they have. Lining colored bottles up against windows can really reflect sunlight and brighten up a kitchen. But more than just visually appealing, antique bottles are truly part of history. For antique lovers, bottles are an important part of any collection and can be very valuable.
Happy Treasure Hunting.
Milk Bottles
To some, old bottles are just junk taking up space on the windowsills of the kitchen. They truly don’t appreciate the craftsmanship that typically went into making these items, which was usually done by hand. Of course there are other reasons why someone would be interested in antique bottles, and it has to do with more than just how the bottles were made.
Antique bottles are truly a part of history. The different types of bottles tell a story about a particular industry or way of life. For example, medicinal bottles tell us how far the medical industry has come since many elements are now stored in plastic bags. Seeing an old glass IV bottle can take you back decades. There are antique bottles from the pharmaceutical industry that have the name of the chemical and even poison warnings worked right into the bottle’s design. This is so different from items today where everything is printed on adhesive labels and attached to the bottle itself.
It can be said too that antique bottles are a part of true Americana. Old Coca-Cola or Pepsi-Cola bottles can remind one of the time when sodas were actually sold in glass bottles and were enjoyed at a real soda counter. Other types of antique bottles that are valuable to collectors include vinegar bottles, whiskey bottles, torpedo bottles, cosmetic bottles, and of course beer bottles. To collectors, a bottle that is in good shape and that is an unusual shape or color is very valuable and some can sell for literally tens of thousands of dollars.
Bitters Bottles
There are of course antique bottles that are appreciated for their design and workmanship. For instance, bitters are an old type of medicine that were made from herbs and roots and were called that because of their bitter taste. The bottles they were contained in were often shaped like log cabins, ears of corn, women’s figures, or even a pig. These types of antique bottles are valued for their different colors as well as their shapes. You just don’t see that much detail put into a bottle any longer! If you can imagine a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup, you have an idea of what old bitters bottles were shaped like.
Antique bottles can be found all across the United States. Good locations include ghost towns, old dumps, old houses, old homesteads, antique stores and the campsites on the trails that the early pioneers used to cross the United States.
Bocksbeutel Bottles
Before you start treasure hunting for these valuable antiques I suggest that you pay a visit to the National Bottle Museum at 76 Milton Avenue, Ballston Spa, NY, to learn the early bottle making methods. The museum sponsors a antique bottle show every June and dealers and collectors from all over the world attend. At the very least you can visit the museums web site.
Many of the more valuable bottles were produced in the 1800s and were handmade and no two are exactly alike. Bottles are appreciated for their look and for the visual appeal they have. Lining colored bottles up against windows can really reflect sunlight and brighten up a kitchen. But more than just visually appealing, antique bottles are truly part of history. For antique lovers, bottles are an important part of any collection and can be very valuable.
Happy Treasure Hunting.
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Weird Festivals in the United States
Abhisekh Mitra asked:
In a country like the United States, you’d have to imagine that there would be some very strange things that people would celebrate around the country. Many of these concern animals; we seem to have this weird obsession with animals in general, maybe because there are so many different species.
Let’s start with this one. Did you know you don’t have to go all the way to Spain to see the running of the bulls? We have our own running of the bulls, held annually in Mesquite, NV, in July. Of course, there are differences, since this is America after all. There are escape routes built into the course so people can bail whenever they get scared or are close to danger. There’s also a fence that’s easily scalable if someone needs to make a quick escape. It’s usually well attended, which is amazing for an event held outside in Nevada in the summertime.
Next we have the annual Roadkill Cook-off, held in Marlington, WV every September. As nasty as it sounds, luckily the participants don’t have to go out and kill their own animals, nor do they have to go pick up anything off the side of the road. But they do have to cook up something using the types of animals that are usually found on the side of the road. Luckily, this doesn’t include house pets who meet their untimely demise by trying their luck with vehicles.
As it pertains to running with things, I’m sure you’ve seen the TV commercial where people are running with squirrels. In Louisville, KY every year, they have an event that has people running with rodents. And not just any rodents, but rodents bred at Spalding University, which began the festival in 1972. This one offers a bunch of rodent related activities, as it’s part of a week long festival the college has.
I **** bugs, so I won’t be going to any of these. If you have kids, they might enjoy going to Bugfest, a festival held in Raleigh, NC every September, or the Fire Ant Festival, held annually every October in Marshall, TX. They might enjoy the Wooly Worm Festival held every October in Banner elk, NC, or the Great Texas Mosquito Festival of Clute, TX, held every July.
If the live version of all these animals is a bit much, maybe something more sedate, like the World Wildfowl Carving Championships in Ocean City, MD, is more up your alley. This contest offers the highest paid prize of $20,000, and draws people from around the world to take their shot at it.
There are stranger festivals around the country, but these will give you a head start on some of the strange fun that can be had.
In a country like the United States, you’d have to imagine that there would be some very strange things that people would celebrate around the country. Many of these concern animals; we seem to have this weird obsession with animals in general, maybe because there are so many different species.
Let’s start with this one. Did you know you don’t have to go all the way to Spain to see the running of the bulls? We have our own running of the bulls, held annually in Mesquite, NV, in July. Of course, there are differences, since this is America after all. There are escape routes built into the course so people can bail whenever they get scared or are close to danger. There’s also a fence that’s easily scalable if someone needs to make a quick escape. It’s usually well attended, which is amazing for an event held outside in Nevada in the summertime.
Next we have the annual Roadkill Cook-off, held in Marlington, WV every September. As nasty as it sounds, luckily the participants don’t have to go out and kill their own animals, nor do they have to go pick up anything off the side of the road. But they do have to cook up something using the types of animals that are usually found on the side of the road. Luckily, this doesn’t include house pets who meet their untimely demise by trying their luck with vehicles.
As it pertains to running with things, I’m sure you’ve seen the TV commercial where people are running with squirrels. In Louisville, KY every year, they have an event that has people running with rodents. And not just any rodents, but rodents bred at Spalding University, which began the festival in 1972. This one offers a bunch of rodent related activities, as it’s part of a week long festival the college has.
I **** bugs, so I won’t be going to any of these. If you have kids, they might enjoy going to Bugfest, a festival held in Raleigh, NC every September, or the Fire Ant Festival, held annually every October in Marshall, TX. They might enjoy the Wooly Worm Festival held every October in Banner elk, NC, or the Great Texas Mosquito Festival of Clute, TX, held every July.
If the live version of all these animals is a bit much, maybe something more sedate, like the World Wildfowl Carving Championships in Ocean City, MD, is more up your alley. This contest offers the highest paid prize of $20,000, and draws people from around the world to take their shot at it.
There are stranger festivals around the country, but these will give you a head start on some of the strange fun that can be had.
Top 5 Museums of the Weird
Rob Mabry asked:
A lot of people think museums are boring. They’re filled with all that old stuff and if you want to know what something is, then you have to read. Boring! So for those looking for an alternative to the same old “history lesson in a building” that comes from most traditional museum visits, I offer these five fun, weird and wacky museums.
1. The Museum of Bad Art – Located in Dedham Square just outside of Boston, this is a shrine to all things hackneyed and misguided in the world of art. Stressing that its not about incompetence, the museum’s website notes that their collection is “from the work of talented artists that have gone awry to works of exuberant, although crude, execution by artists barely in control of the brush.” MOBA is worth the trip.
2. The International UFO Museum and Research Center – Dangerously close to mainstream, this exploration of UFO sightings and cover-ups in Roswell, New Mexico is the premier UFO museum on the planet. It is quite likely that the visitors to this museum are a greater oddity than the exhibits themselves.
3. The Corn Palace – Art, History and Corn merge in this South Dakota tribute to all things “corn.” The Corn Palace is covered with murals made from corn that change each year. Learn how corn grows and enjoy a free guided tour explaining the process that goes into creating these one-of-a-kind corn murals.
4. Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia – Yep. A Pez Museum. See the Guinness World Record Holding – Snowman Pez dispenser, largest in the world at nearly 8 feet tall. A must for those with a Pez obsession.
5. The Historical Torture Museum – On exhibit in San Francisco, this museum explores the various instruments of torture used throughout man’s existence. Learn more than you’d ever want to know about the Iron Maiden, the garotte, Inquisitonal Chairs, Heretic Forks and Branks.
Honorable Mention: The National Museum of Health and Medicine – I sense a cover-up here. The name sounds incredibly boring and the website trie to fool you with this dry description…The Museum houses a collection of over 24 million items including archival materials, anatomical and pathological specimens, medical instruments and artifacts, and microscope slide-based medical research collections.
What they should be saying is…See deformed fetuses, birth defects, chunks of Abraham Lincoln’s skull and more morbid anatomical oddities. That’s what’s really in this museum.
Interested in a museum artifact that’s a little off the beaten path? Looking for a canopic jar or mummification wall art? Check out the unique collection of statues, wall art and collectible figurines at Your Museum Store.
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A lot of people think museums are boring. They’re filled with all that old stuff and if you want to know what something is, then you have to read. Boring! So for those looking for an alternative to the same old “history lesson in a building” that comes from most traditional museum visits, I offer these five fun, weird and wacky museums.
1. The Museum of Bad Art – Located in Dedham Square just outside of Boston, this is a shrine to all things hackneyed and misguided in the world of art. Stressing that its not about incompetence, the museum’s website notes that their collection is “from the work of talented artists that have gone awry to works of exuberant, although crude, execution by artists barely in control of the brush.” MOBA is worth the trip.
2. The International UFO Museum and Research Center – Dangerously close to mainstream, this exploration of UFO sightings and cover-ups in Roswell, New Mexico is the premier UFO museum on the planet. It is quite likely that the visitors to this museum are a greater oddity than the exhibits themselves.
3. The Corn Palace – Art, History and Corn merge in this South Dakota tribute to all things “corn.” The Corn Palace is covered with murals made from corn that change each year. Learn how corn grows and enjoy a free guided tour explaining the process that goes into creating these one-of-a-kind corn murals.
4. Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia – Yep. A Pez Museum. See the Guinness World Record Holding – Snowman Pez dispenser, largest in the world at nearly 8 feet tall. A must for those with a Pez obsession.
5. The Historical Torture Museum – On exhibit in San Francisco, this museum explores the various instruments of torture used throughout man’s existence. Learn more than you’d ever want to know about the Iron Maiden, the garotte, Inquisitonal Chairs, Heretic Forks and Branks.
Honorable Mention: The National Museum of Health and Medicine – I sense a cover-up here. The name sounds incredibly boring and the website trie to fool you with this dry description…The Museum houses a collection of over 24 million items including archival materials, anatomical and pathological specimens, medical instruments and artifacts, and microscope slide-based medical research collections.
What they should be saying is…See deformed fetuses, birth defects, chunks of Abraham Lincoln’s skull and more morbid anatomical oddities. That’s what’s really in this museum.
Interested in a museum artifact that’s a little off the beaten path? Looking for a canopic jar or mummification wall art? Check out the unique collection of statues, wall art and collectible figurines at Your Museum Store.
.
Top 5 Museums of the Weird
Rob Mabry asked:
A lot of people think museums are boring. They’re filled with all that old stuff and if you want to know what something is, then you have to read. Boring! So for those looking for an alternative to the same old “history lesson in a building” that comes from most traditional museum visits, I offer these five fun, weird and wacky museums.
1. The Museum of Bad Art – Located in Dedham Square just outside of Boston, this is a shrine to all things hackneyed and misguided in the world of art. Stressing that its not about incompetence, the museum’s website notes that their collection is “from the work of talented artists that have gone awry to works of exuberant, although crude, execution by artists barely in control of the brush.” MOBA is worth the trip.
2. The International UFO Museum and Research Center – Dangerously close to mainstream, this exploration of UFO sightings and cover-ups in Roswell, New Mexico is the premier UFO museum on the planet. It is quite likely that the visitors to this museum are a greater oddity than the exhibits themselves.
3. The Corn Palace – Art, History and Corn merge in this South Dakota tribute to all things “corn.” The Corn Palace is covered with murals made from corn that change each year. Learn how corn grows and enjoy a free guided tour explaining the process that goes into creating these one-of-a-kind corn murals.
4. Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia – Yep. A Pez Museum. See the Guinness World Record Holding – Snowman Pez dispenser, largest in the world at nearly 8 feet tall. A must for those with a Pez obsession.
5. The Historical Torture Museum – On exhibit in San Francisco, this museum explores the various instruments of torture used throughout man’s existence. Learn more than you’d ever want to know about the Iron Maiden, the garotte, Inquisitonal Chairs, Heretic Forks and Branks.
Honorable Mention: The National Museum of Health and Medicine – I sense a cover-up here. The name sounds incredibly boring and the website trie to fool you with this dry description…The Museum houses a collection of over 24 million items including archival materials, anatomical and pathological specimens, medical instruments and artifacts, and microscope slide-based medical research collections.
What they should be saying is…See deformed fetuses, birth defects, chunks of Abraham Lincoln’s skull and more morbid anatomical oddities. That’s what’s really in this museum.
Interested in a museum artifact that’s a little off the beaten path? Looking for a canopic jar or mummification wall art? Check out the unique collection of statues, wall art and collectible figurines at Your Museum Store.
.
A lot of people think museums are boring. They’re filled with all that old stuff and if you want to know what something is, then you have to read. Boring! So for those looking for an alternative to the same old “history lesson in a building” that comes from most traditional museum visits, I offer these five fun, weird and wacky museums.
1. The Museum of Bad Art – Located in Dedham Square just outside of Boston, this is a shrine to all things hackneyed and misguided in the world of art. Stressing that its not about incompetence, the museum’s website notes that their collection is “from the work of talented artists that have gone awry to works of exuberant, although crude, execution by artists barely in control of the brush.” MOBA is worth the trip.
2. The International UFO Museum and Research Center – Dangerously close to mainstream, this exploration of UFO sightings and cover-ups in Roswell, New Mexico is the premier UFO museum on the planet. It is quite likely that the visitors to this museum are a greater oddity than the exhibits themselves.
3. The Corn Palace – Art, History and Corn merge in this South Dakota tribute to all things “corn.” The Corn Palace is covered with murals made from corn that change each year. Learn how corn grows and enjoy a free guided tour explaining the process that goes into creating these one-of-a-kind corn murals.
4. Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia – Yep. A Pez Museum. See the Guinness World Record Holding – Snowman Pez dispenser, largest in the world at nearly 8 feet tall. A must for those with a Pez obsession.
5. The Historical Torture Museum – On exhibit in San Francisco, this museum explores the various instruments of torture used throughout man’s existence. Learn more than you’d ever want to know about the Iron Maiden, the garotte, Inquisitonal Chairs, Heretic Forks and Branks.
Honorable Mention: The National Museum of Health and Medicine – I sense a cover-up here. The name sounds incredibly boring and the website trie to fool you with this dry description…The Museum houses a collection of over 24 million items including archival materials, anatomical and pathological specimens, medical instruments and artifacts, and microscope slide-based medical research collections.
What they should be saying is…See deformed fetuses, birth defects, chunks of Abraham Lincoln’s skull and more morbid anatomical oddities. That’s what’s really in this museum.
Interested in a museum artifact that’s a little off the beaten path? Looking for a canopic jar or mummification wall art? Check out the unique collection of statues, wall art and collectible figurines at Your Museum Store.
.