10 Strange Objects You Didn't Know Museums Hold

1. The Amethyst Cursed

An oval amethyst set in a snake-shaped silver ring, embellished with zodiac symbols and engraved with the word T, is hidden away in our vault.

Typically, amethysts are thought to promote clarity and serenity, but not this one! During the Indian Mutiny in 1855, the stone was allegedly stolen from the Temple of the God Indra at Cawnpore. Its later owners allegedly suffered from apparitions, tragedies, ruined careers, and suicides. Edward Heron-Allen, the last owner, was afraid of its curse and packed it into seven boxes before putting it in a safety deposit box with a warning note telling him not to let it see the light of day again for 33 years after his death. However, his daughter only waited a year before making a 1944 donation to the Museum. However, there are rumors that Edward actually made up the amethyst's curse to promote his 1921 short novel, The Purple Sapphire.

The Vault in the Green Zone displays the cursed amethyst.

2. Locust-eating mouse

A locust capturing and devouring a mouse, preserved in alcohol for all time. There are numerous reasons why this specimen is exceptional.

The locust's enormous size is unnerving, aside from the fact that the mouse's worst (and last) day was stored for almost a century. The locust had begun eating the mouse, according to a report by Reverend M. H. Reid, who discovered this odd discovery in Central Africa. He and others also describe how, when there were no more plants to eat, they had seen these locusts' devouring cockroaches and big spiders.

It can be seen up in the Blue Zone on the balcony of Hintze Hall.

3. Kryptonite

An example of the white mineral known as jadarite, which was found in Serbia in 2006 and is remarkably similar to the notorious Kryptonite that destroys Superman's abilities.

Kryptonite, a mineral from his home planet of Krypton that comprises sodium, lithium, boron silicate, and hydroxide, is the superhero's sole vulnerability in the movie Superman Returns. When researchers examined a new mineral, they had found in Serbia in 2006, they were shocked to find that it had nearly the same chemical makeup as the made-up substance Kryptonite. The mineral, which they called Jadarite, had boron hydroxide, lithium, sodium, and silicate, just like kryptonite, but it was devoid of fluorine. The reason jadarite is white is because fluorine is what gives kryptonite its renowned green color.

It can be seen in the Red Zone, in Earth's Treasury.

4. Whale earwax

It is an enormous piece of whale earwax.

Apart from being disgusting, scientists find whale earwax to be really valuable. Because of the gradual accumulation, scientists may see a whale's hormone levels once a year. For instance, tracking cortisol levels can indicate stress levels. Whales were particularly stressed during the 1920s and 1930s when whale hunting was at its peak, according to a 146-year data set spanning 1870 to 2016. The 1960s, the decade before to the prohibition of commercial whaling, had the highest levels of stress. Earwax can provide information about a whale's age, stress levels, and exposure to environmental contaminants.

It is not on exhibit at the moment.

5. Pencil owl

A disembodied owl's head with a blue pencil stuck in one of its ears can be found in a discreet cabinet in our Birds Gallery.

The exhibit, which is about owl hearing, conveys its point—pun intended—in a very unique way! The tufts at the top of an owl's head are sometimes mistaken for its ears, but they are actually located lower down. The Museum's exhibit designers chose to add a pencil to help show where the ears are in order to clear up this issue. Given that owls frequently have lop-sided ears, they definitely need to have placed a second pencil on the opposite side. In reality, their asymmetrical ear arrangement is what enables them to locate a sound in the dark, allowing them to target and attack their victim.

It can be found by visiting the Green Zone's Birds Gallery.

6. The Giant Squid, Archie

Archie the gigantic squid is 8.62 meters long and so large that we had to construct a special tank to hold it. In addition to Archie, we have 23 million more alcohol specimens in our spirit collection, which includes the ones Darwin gathered aboard the HMS Beagle.

Because Architeuthis dux, the gigantic squid, is so uncommon that it was originally believed to be a myth, the Museum's acquisition of Archie allows visitors to get up close and personal with this majestic and elusive creature. The Museum purchased Archie after it was unintentionally captured by a fishing trawler at a depth of 220 meters. It is now housed in a specially designed tank created by the same team that created the tanks in Damien Hirst's well-known formaldehyde artwork. The focal point of the Museum's ghost collection is Archie. In addition to having many type specimens, the collection's sheer size—more than 23 million preserved specimens—makes it special and significant from a scientific standpoint. All other specimens are characterized by the type specimen, which is the specimen used to describe a new species for the first time.

By taking one of our behind-the-scenes Spirit Collection Tours, you can view Archie in our Tank Room. A part of the spirit collection is on public display if you visit our Spirit Collection Building in the Orange Zone. Among the numerous jars and tanks, try to identify the type examples, which are identified by their characteristic golden caps.

7. London's Tower Skulls of Barbary Lions

In 1937, two remarkable skulls belonging to the extinct Barbary lion, Panthera leo leo, were discovered in the ancient moat surrounding the Tower of London.

Although pigeons, foxes, and bears are less common in the capital now than lions, tigers, and bears, these animals serve as a moving reminder of London's ancient past. These skulls were recovered from the Tower of London's moat and belonged to lions that were housed there in the past as part of a royal zoo. Scientists at the Museum have used carbon dating to establish that one of the two skulls discovered belonged to a lion that lived between 1280 and 1385, and the other between 1420 and 1480. Since wild cave lions went extinct during the last Ice Age, they are among the oldest lions to have resided in London.

It can be viewed in the Red Zone, in our Treasures Gallery.

8. The Panda Chi Chi

At the rear of our Central Café, a taxidermy huge panda named Chi Chi is munching on some bamboo, but this panda is not your typical one! In the 1960s, Chi Chi was a famous person in London whose romantic life almost led to a diplomatic crisis.

Chi-Chi the giant panda, who arrived at the London Zoo in 1958, quickly rose to prominence and became so recognizable that she served as the inspiration for the WWF's emblem. To help with conservation, the zoo started looking for a partner for Chi Chi in the middle of the 1960s. Since it was impossible to obtain a huge panda from Communist China at the time, Moscow, which possessed the only other giant panda outside of China, was the only option. When London Zoo Curator Desmond Morris arrived in Russia, he discovered that things were a little complicated because it was during the height of the Cold War. Perceiving it as a ploy for a spying operation, the KGB followed him about and even attempted to coerce him into committing a crime in order to have a reason to detain him. Thankfully, Morris arrived home safely, having found Chi Chi a mate, even though the two never bred. Chi Chi, who was 15 when she passed away from an unanticipated illness in 1972, was purchased by the Museum and displayed. They are displayed in a cabinet at the rear of our Central Café in the Blue Zone.

9. Darwin in his Slippers Charles Darwin's monument guarding Hintze Hall from the stairway may be recognizable to you, but did you know there is another one? His softer side can be shown when he reads a book in his slippers in our central library.

Charles Darwin, who is regarded as the Father of Evolution, transformed scientific thought in the middle of the nineteenth century with his groundbreaking book On the Origins of Species. Numerous statues of Darwin were erected in scientific institutions throughout the nation as a tribute to his contributions, such as the one in Hintze Hall, which was unveiled in 1885—four years after the Museum's founding. But in our central library, hidden among the books, is a second statue of Darwin owned by the Museum. It is appropriate that this statue depicts Darwin reading a book while relaxing in his slippers rather than in all his splendor.

It is strange to see a famous scientist wearing his slippers! Our Library and Archives Team can give you a tour of our main library if you schedule an appointment.

10. Dressed fleas

Fleas are in the miniature costumes.

These 1905-made dressed fleas, which included farming implements and tools, were a part of Sir Walter Rothschild's collection. Walter's family had a fascination with fleas. Miriam, his niece, was the first to figure out how fleas hop after studying them with his brother Charles. Originally from Mexico, these small, dressed fleas with their elaborate costumes were created as tourist mementos. Not quite as memorable as a postcard!

We have set up a magnifier at our location in Tring, Hertfordshire, so you can view the tiny, dressed fleas in all their splendor.