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Monday, January 12, 2015

Marvelous Marvin's Mechanical Museum

Wow!  I have been to one of the most amazing locations I have ever laid eyes on:  Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum.  At its heart Marvin's a museum of interactive amusement machines, some dating back to the 1950s.  While there are rows of pinball machines and ski ball, it would be unfair to call this an "arcade".  You do take a handful of quarters with you, but every machine is its own unique experience.  I think this picture sums things up well.


This is possibly one of the most overstimulating places on God's green earth.  New exhibits are shoved and wedged in front of old ones.   Machines are packed so close together they create claustrophobic catacombs.





















The rafters hang with carnival and movie posters.....





Intertwined amongst all these amazing interactive machines are other strange and random exhibits and artifacts.....















But perhaps the most remarkable artifact in all the museum is THIS.....


Shoved in a back corner is the freaking CARDIFF GIANT!  The Cardiff giant was a petrified giant man found in a field in New York.  The giant would travel the country and gain money.  P.T. Barnum set his eyes on owning the giant, but its owner refused to sell.  Barnum responded (as Barnum would) by creating his own Cardiff Giant and touring with it.  Eventually both were revealed in the media to be fakes.  The one you see here is not the original pulled out in the field, but rather Barnum's version.

Here is the man that is responsible for all this remarkable madness:  Marvin Yagoda.


And here is a picture of Marvin with Eminem.....


Marvin saw me taking pictures and asked me to please put them on facebook.  Which I certainly will.

Truly, the best way to take you guys on a trip through Marvin's is in video form.  Sit back and enjoy the ride.....





The Carpetbagger

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