Visiting the Museum of Failure

Awhile back my friends were telling me about a fun exhibit they say at the A+D Museum all about failed products. I thought it sounded super interesting but, unfortunately, they had visited on the last day. Whomp whomp. Oh well, you can’t get to them all. Then, one day, I was on Goldstar and came across tickets to the Museum of Failure. What now? It turns out after its run at the A+D it moved to its own space at Hollywood & Highland. Lickety split I scored a press pass and went to check it out.

The Museum of Failure was founded by Dr.Samuel West as an ode to some of history’s biggest failures. Originally exhibited in Sweden it’s now made its way to LA where it will reside until March of next year.

Funny enough, I nearly failed in my attempt to visit it. When I arrived at Hollywood & Highland there was no sign of the museum. It wasn’t on the directory or any of the signage. If you’ve ever been there you know what a pain that place is to navigate and it took me awhile to finally find it. When you go, know that it’s on level 2 facing Hollywood Blvd.

Once inside I knew I was in my kind of place. Failed object after failed object was displayed accompanied by some of the wittiest display cards I’ve ever read. As much as I love museums I very rarely read the cads that accompany the exhibits. Not here! They were so funny I had to read each and every one.

Upon viewing the exhibit I reminisced about many failures I remembered, awed over several I’d never heard of and was embarrassed by a few that I personally loved.

Blame it on my youth but I loved Crystal Pepsi!

And I thought Orbitz was the coolest thing! I really think it would have been much more successful if it had debuted after the rise of boba.

But I never loved McDonald’s Arch Deluxe. I still remember its terrible, terrible bun.

And I remember being disgusted by Heinz EZ Squirt. Who wants blue or purple ketchup?

Adult baby food? Orange juice flavored cereal?? Flavored water for dogs and cat??? I never knew of any of these and can’t even image how they got past the planning stages. With all the consumer research companies do how on earth did these hit the sales floor?

Of course, there’s more than just food on display. Remember Facebook gift? At this point I think the company is longing for the days of this being their biggest problem.

As many Barbies as I had growing up I really doubt my parents would have ever bought me a Skipper that grew breasts. Weird weird weird.

Inflatable furniture seemed like a good idea until people discovered it was no match for ceiling fans. Oh boy! Glad I never bought any.

I could seriously go on and on. The Museum of Failure was a true delight. It was enlightening and extremely hilarious. As much as it’s a pain to get to it’s totally worth it. You’ve got a year so don’t missing seeing it!