#The Museum of Failure

[kingsbridgelibraryteens]

Exploring NYC: The Museum of Failure (In Industry City, Brooklyn), June 2023

In which we saw things from our own past that were pretty terrible (like New Coke and Crystal Pepsi) and things from our own past that were pretty amazing but couldn’t survive financially (laser discs). We also saw lots of things that should NEVER have existed (Rejuvenique? The Trump board game?)

We also got the answer to the question: Was the E.T. video game as bad as we’d heard? Ummmm … yeah … pretty much …

[21stcenturysucks]

museum of failure or gallery of trying?

[gelatinous-globster]

shoutout to these frames in Failure Mode for giving globby the most wretched eyebags

[rain-is-studying]

My Museum of Failures as a girly who's currently going to start uni for engineering

(hopefully this motivates yall to keep going)

1. I failed my 9th grade final exam, had to retake the exam. (Thankfully I didn't have to wait another year and managed to do well in that)

2. I failed my 11th grade. But I didn't give up on my education! It may sound stupid but I kept going :)

3. I managed to get into the top 20 rank of my math class but I immediately jumped to a lower rank after one exam.

4. I never had consistent ranks, either I straight up failed the exam or just passed or I ended up shocking myself and others on the exam. This made my teachers super frustrated!

5. I got rejected from my dream programme in neuroscience and computer science.

(I think yall can tell I studied in an Indian school despite studying the British Curriculum)

Thanks for popping into my exhibition, see you next time for Amore's Redirection ✨️

[krippe90]

slapped some paint down and this wolf in a winter storm emerged. And ngl, it's the first thing I've painted in a couple of months that I'm sorta pleased with!

[manasv1]

I wish I was optimistic enough to call my museum of failure the gallery of trying. I wish I was optimistic enough to climb the mountain of experiences instead of drowning in the ocean of regrets. I wish I was optimistic enough to say I am trying to achieve success instead of believing I am trying to avoid failure. But at the end of the day, I am still walking through the boulevard of broken dreams to visit the graveyard of my ambitions. At the end of the day, I am still standing in front of my worst nightmare, the tree of 'what ifs'.

[generating-functionology]

museum of failures:

i was consistently a D math student from elementary school until high school and had no plans to pursue math at all, believing myself to be physically incapable of learning it.

I then failed (with an F) my first (INTERMEDIATE!) algebra course in college. I told my professor my plans to major in global security and linguistics, and he said it was a useless degree and I would never get a job. He was probably right but I still cried about it immediately afterwards.

I switched to minoring in Computer Science. I expected A's immediately without putting in effort. Learned the hard way that I need to study for things.

I liked Computer Science so I majored in it instead. Linguistics program got dissolved. Womp womp

Needed to take a lab science. Terrified of physics, I opted for chemistry, which I learned that I hated, and that wet labs were boring. Got a 30 on the final LOL

I got bored of Computer Science and felt there was something missing. Turns out it was math. So I added math to my major despite concerns from those around me.

I expected perfection from myself in math classes as the coursework became more and more relevant and interesting and less computation-based. Unfortunately it led to a lot of nervous breakdowns.

I eventually applied to Math PhD programs after mulling it over for a long time. I got rejected from nearly all of them because I applied to extremely competitive schools without doing a ton of research.

During the PhD, I started student-teaching for the first time and I had many, many occasions during recitation where I blundered and made a fool of myself. I cringe having to remember it.

I failed an abstract linear algebra exam despite studying for it for hours and hours each day, and despite abstract linear algebra being arguably the stronger of my skills.

This is something I still need to accept about myself. That sometimes I'll have a late start or burn out or not study effectively, but I choose to pluck my teeth off the ground and try again and again, because I can't envision myself apart from mathematics. Even though I felt tormented by the subject growing up, it turns out that developing skill in mathematics has taught me a lot about myself and my need to be perfect. That this obsession with performance destroys passion and reverence for something that is, once the fear subsides, stunning and beautiful and ancient. There's a nonzero chance I fail both my qualifying exams this week. I keep telling myself, we'll deal with it when it comes.

[alanaeen]

All my dreams lay untouched undone unmade, the voice of my dreams fooled me into believing I'm someone so capable while I'm not. I think myself powerful for all my thoughts and ideas, but I'm just a block of brick so dense to float and so heavy to fly or shoot up the air and so stupid to think and act, and I fooled myself for long.

[imtryingandtired]

I do think Kah and Amelia as a frenemies type dynamic would be so fun to see play out in a series, mostly because they’d probably get roped into each others insanity at least a couple times, especially if Kah is trying to sabotage

[villainsidestep]

I want cyrus to kill fawn for funsies. I want fawn to kill cyrus for him being a bad person now. I want river to kill them both bc they won’t fucking shut up

[wensdaiambrose]

Did you know there is a museum dedicated to failure?

[fishmech]

At the Brooklyn Museum Of Failure

[thisislizheather]

Museum of Failure in NYC

“Museum of Failure is a collection of failed products and services from around the world. The majority of all innovation projects fail and the museum showcases these failures to provide visitors a fascinating learning experience. Innovation and progress require an acceptance of failure. The museum aims to stimulate productive discussion about failure and inspire us to take meaningful risks.”

God, I love a fun museum. There’s absolutely nothing better. I went to the Museum of Failure when it opened a few weeks ago in Brooklyn and I can’t recommend it enough. The space it’s displayed in is a bit of a failure in itself (on purpose maybe?), but once you get past that it’s a great way to spend an hour. Some highlights below!

As soon as you enter, there’s the Share Your Failure wall that visitors can contribute to. Best ones I read: not getting divorced, not kissing him, not wearing sunscreen when I was young.

Above Photo: Share Your Failure wall at the Museum of Failure, NYC

Above Photo: If this doesn’t remind you of the Toronto Science Center in the mid 90s, I don’t know what to tell you

Okay, Orbitz was not actually a good drink, but it completely paved the way for bubble tea to take off.

Above Photo: Diet candy AYDS, 1937-1980s

“Why take diet pills when you can enjoy AYDS?" HOW WAS THIS REAL? And how on earth was it successful for decades?? This appetite-suppressant candy was successful with the help of Hollywood celebrities and its popularity peaked in the 1970s. Obviously when the AIDS epidemic emerged in the 1980s the weight-loss product was doomed.

Above Photo: Atari ET Game & Console, 1982-1983

This is basically known as the worst video game of all time and Atari reported a $536 million loss in 1983 because of it. There’s a great documentary about it called Atari: Game Over about the urban legend that unsold copies were buried.

Above Photo: Low blow, museum. Low blow.

Is it funny that there’s a Titanic reference? Absolutely. Horrid, but funny.

Above Photo: Pinky Gloves, 2021

Oh no, these came out in 2021. A male trio of German inventors created gloves to wear when taking out tampons so that women wouldn’t get blood on their hands and have a “discrete way to dispose of the used product.” WOW.

Above Photo: Little Miss No Name, 1965

Firstly, I apologize for introducing this image into your subconscious. I really am. The brand Hasbro designed this unusual doll to be an alternative to the hugely popular Barbie. “In keeping with the climate of the mid-sixties, they wanted to teach little girls compassion and the realities of life for homeless people.”

Above Photo: Trump SECTION at the Museum of Failure, NYC

There’s a whole Trump wing in the museum, which is just *chef’s kiss*.

Above Photo: Spray On Condom, 2006-2008

This German product was supposed to be the solution to the problem of condoms being either too small or too big. Its instructions: “Simply insert penis into an apparatus to coat with melted latex and then wait 3 minutes for the latex to dry.” It failed because the idea of inserting one's penis into the apparatus scared men and the three-minute hardening time proved too long to wait.

Above Photo: Shared Girlfriend, 2017

Developed by Chinese company Taqu Ltd., the Shared Girlfriend service rented sex dolls for $45 a day. They were made of high-quality silicon and dolls were ordered with a smartphone app then delivered to your door. “After each rental, the dolls were disinfected, and the more heavily used and damaged parts were replaced.” ICK.  Amazingly, the service was suspended only four days after its launch due to public outrage.

There were so many other incredible pieces on display (grass skis, the hula chair, the Elon Musk wall), you really should make an afternoon of it and see for yourself. I showed a few videos of the exhibit over on my spring ‘23 highlights on Instagram, if you’re interested in seeing even more. Such a fun time. Tickets available over here.

Now I beg you, world: bring back Pepsi Blue.

[chewbaccaaah]

While the non permanent museum is shutting next week, the virtual tour/catalog is available for free and is hillarious!

[pickleslice]

i cannot believe i live in a city without a zoo it makes me sick.

[downwiththebad]

Arent they the same thing since you cant fail if you dont try?

Either way I need this in my life. I wanna see all the failed attempts to create all those masterpieces we get to see in galleries.

How many attempts did it take for the mona lisa to be perfected? What did they all look like?

Was she ever imagined as a blonde before the artist decided to settle on brown hair?

Was the background always a landscape? Or was it a solid colors for the longest time before he decided solid colors just werent enough?