Welcome to the Museum of Failure: Are these the world's worst inventions?

Or what about ‘Bic for Her’, a range of pastel and glitter-coloured pens designed “to fit comfortably in a woman’s hand”?

Welcome to the world’s worst inventions.

At least, that’s according to the Museum of Failure, a celebration of failed products and services visiting the A+ D Architecture and Design Museum in Los Angeles (aplusd.org). The flops are facepalm-brilliant, but visitors are invited to take home a few genuine lessons, too.

There’s also a lesson for small, independently-minded museums.

The Museum of Failure (failuremuseum.com) began life in Helsingborg, Sweden, as a collection of 100 or so artefacts from the 17th century to the present day. It was conceived by psychologist and innovation researcher, Dr Samuel West, who noted that 80-90pc of industries’ projects fail, and felt the untold stories deserved to be shared.

“As a society, we are too obsessed with success and underestimate failure,” he says. “I started the Museum of Failure out of frustration — it’s time we accept failure, learn from it, and truly achieve progress.” And off he went.

In LA, a cultural hub that loves its quirky pop-ups, the museum will stay until February 4 (discoverlosangeles.com). Exhibits are produced by Special Entertainment Events (SEE), which has been responsible for acclaimed touring exhibits like Titanic and Star Trek.

Clearly, you don’t have to be the Louvre (which just opened a spin-off in Abu Dhabi), or even Ireland’s National Museum, to attract money, marketing and the masses.

Small museums can’t compete in terms of budget or scale, but they can zero in on niches, quirky themes or authentic experiences, rather than the showy ‘state-of-the-art’ interactive displays becoming all too generic in major museums.

Think of the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in London, the Icelandic Phallological Museum (worth a Google), or closer to home, the Little Museum of Dublin, which topped TripAdvisor’s 2017 list of Ireland’s best museums.

I’d add Cork’s Butter Museum, Croke Park’s GAA Museum (20 years old in 2018), the new Fethard Horse Country Experience and Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio, based in a Martello Tower in Howth.

They’re more memorable, and shareable, than many larger spaces.

Serious or silly, the key lies in a strong idea, invested staff and, be it hi-tech or low-brow, the quality. Visitors should leave feeling the glow of authenticity, and not the disappointment of a dud.

It’s not rocket science, but the Museum of Failure could teach all tourism businesses a thing or two about success.

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