These Museums are Delightfully Strange and Unconventional

20. A museum dedicated to Instant Ramen

A Japanese inventor and businessman named Momofuku Ando invented instant ramen noodles, bringing them to market in 1958 via his company, Nissin. Ironically, the product originally earned the reputation of being a luxury item, due to its prohibitive cost. Gradually, production costs lowered, as did the retail price, and instant ramen gained popularity throughout Japan and Southeast Asia, as well as in China. In 1971 Ando took his invention a step further, creating Cup Noodles. The styrofoam cups filled with ramen and desiccated meat and vegetables soared in popularity, fueled in part by the increasing use of microwave ovens. Ramen noodles became the go-to meal of the temporarily broke, college dorms, bachelors, and others. They became so popular that in 2000, a poll of Japan labeled instant ramen as the best invention by a Japanese of the 20^th century.

To celebrate such a noble achievement, the Japanese opened the Cup Noodles Museum in Osaka, Japan. It is not the only museum dedicated to instant ramen. Another stands in Yokohama, and the two are affiliated. There is yet another in Hong Kong. The museums present the invention, evolution, and future developments of the world of ramen. Among the displays are a presentation of a joint effort between Nissin and America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration to create a ramen meal eaten in zero-gravity. In 2005 Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi became the first human to dine on ramen in zero gravity, while on a mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Rather than the famous dangling noodles, the space version contains ball shaped noodles, which reach the desired texture at lower than boiling water temperatures. Astronauts eat Space Ram, as it is called, with a fork.

Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

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“Welcome to the British Lawnmower Museum”. Article, Lawnmowerworld.co.uk. Online

“The Dog Collar Museum”. Article, Leeds Castle. Online

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“Museum of Beauty”. Article, Atlas Obscura. Online

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“I went to a cryptozoology museum and everything was ridiculous”. Lauren Juliff, Never Ending Footsteps. May 13, 2021