Not that we needed confirmation from an outside source, but Time has named Portland’s International Cryptozoology Museum as one of the 10 weirdest museums in the world.

Time published the list last Sunday in honor of International Museum Day to call attention to a few museums that are anything but mundane.

The International Cryptozoology Museum came in at No. 7.

Time wrote, “Cryptozoology is literally ‘the study of hidden animals’ and involves the search for animals whose existence has not been verified, like the Yeti or Bigfoot. This museum’s collection includes specimens and artifacts purportedly related to these types of mythical, unverified creatures. It includes everything from hair samples, fecal matter and native art — and it just might turn you into a Bigfoot believer.”

Other museums making the list were the Icelandic Phallological Museum, dedicated to all things phallic; the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets in India; and the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum in LaCrosse, Kansas.

Loren Coleman, founder and director of the Cryptozoology Museum, said he hopes making Time’s list boosts the museum’s profile and attendance. “More visitors translates into us fulfilling our mission to share with the general public and specialists the forgotten and disappearing history of cryptozoology and the discovery of new animals, such as the mountain gorilla, okapi, giant squid, and coelacanth. It is both affirming and validating,” he said,

The International Cyrptozoology Museum is at 11 Avon St., Portland.


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