National Mustard Museum: Weird?

I was on the FOX News website and found a link to a slideshow highlighting the "12 Weirdest Museums on Earth."

One of the 12 weirdest museums on the planet is in Wisconsin, "The Mustard Museum."

Where: Middleton, WI

What: Everyone's favorite condiment has a remarkably thorough museum. More than just a gift shop, the gallery features an extensive collection of prepared mustards -- more than 5,000 jars, bottles, and tubes from all 50 states and more than 60 countries. The Museum also is home to hundreds of mustard-related items of great historical importance, including mustard pots and vintage mustard advertisements.

Web site: www.mustardweb.com

I knew the Mustard Museum was in Wisconsin, but I thought it was in Mount Horeb, not Middleton.

The National Mustard Museum is located in Middleton, Wisconsin.

However, the state is home to another mustard museum in Mount Horeb. This is the site of the original mustard museum.

National Mustard Day is celebrated at the Mount Horeb location.

National Mustard Day is celebrated annually at the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum on the first Saturday in August. It is a fun-filled day for the whole family and has traditionally included "free" Oscar Mayer hot dogs as well as music, games, other entertainment, mustard samples, and more. The Mustard Museum has been the official sponsor of this event since 1991.

It seems that we have dueling mustard museums.

According to FOX, the Middleton location is home to "5,000 jars, bottles, and tubes from all 50 states and more than 60 countries."

The Mount Horeb museum has "more than 4,400 mustards and hundreds of items of mustard memorabilia."

History of the Mount Horeb Mustard Museum

The Mount Horeb Mustard Museum began when its founder, Barry Levenson, started collecting mustards on October 27, 1986. His beloved Red Sox had lost the World Series to the New York Mets that night and Barry was very depressed. He went to an all-night supermarket to wander the aisles. He turned down the condiment aisle and heard a deep resonant voice as he passed the mustards: “If you collect us, they will come.”

Barry bought about a dozen jars of mustard that evening and resolved to amass the world’s largest collection of prepared mustards. He continued to work as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin until 1991 when he left the law to devote his passions full-time to Mustard.

The Mount Horeb Mustard Museum opened to the general public in Mount Horeb, WI on April 6, 1992. The Museum moved to its new spacious facility (across the street from the old site) in October of 2000. From those few jars of mustard that Barry found in 1986, the Museum collection has grown to more than 4,400 mustards and hundreds of items of mustard memorabilia.

The Mustard Museum has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, HGTV’s “The Good Life,” and in the pages of dozens of national magazines and newspapers.

The Mount Horeb Mustard Museum and Gift Shop is open seven days a week, from 10 am to 5 pm.
100 West Main Street
Mount Horeb, WI 53572

How did Middleton get to be the "national mustard museum"?

It claims to be the "capitol of the Mustard World - the World Famous Mustard Museum, at the corner of Hubbard Ave and Parmenter St (7477 Hubbard Ave) in Middleton, WI."

On the National Mustard Museum website, the one in Middleton, the "museum history" page directs one to the history of the Mount Horeb museum.

Barry Levenson is the man behind both museums, so he's in competition with himself.

It's a bit confusing.

Anyway, it's an honor to have two mustard museums in Wisconsin.

I don't know why FOX considers the mustard museum to be one of the 12 "weirdest" museums on Earth. There must be some museum, some freak show, somewhere in the world that's weirder.

Question: What's so "weird" about a mustard museum?