Wheeee! - Ten-Story Slide at City Museum

What's the best part of the playground - the swings? Nah. The monkey bars? Boring. The see-saw? That's just an accident waiting to happen. Here's the correct answer: the slide! And here's where you can find the most awesome slide in the whole world: City Museum in St. Louis, Missouri, which features a 10-story slide that deposits you in a room called "the Fungeon."

Actually, all of City Museum is pretty cool, created by an artist who wanted to build a museum-playground that would appeal to kids and adults alike. Among other attractions, there's a giant indoor tree house and a human-size hamster wheel, as well as a display of the world's largest pair of underwear. And everything's made from reclaimed materials. But seriously? They had me at "giant slide."

Cutest Church Ever - St. Andrew's

Credit: Slavorum.org

I used to think that when it comes to churches, bigger equals better. After all, the most beautiful churches in the world are all vast and awe-inspiring. As it turns out, however, even small churches can be impressive. For example, St. Andrew's in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, sits on an island less than a hundred square meters in size, surrounded by gorgeous landscape, and is basically the most adorable house of worship I've ever seen.

To visit St. Andrew's, you must get the permission of the abbot and then take a small boat across the Vuoksa river. Even God must be thinking, "How cute is that?"

Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall - Wat Lan Kuad

Credit: Mark Fischer / Flickr

Just when you think you're doing good with your neatly labeled recycling bins, along comes some Buddhist monks to blow you out of the water. More than 30 years ago, the monks of Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew, in the Khun Han district of Thailand, decided to turn all of the discarded beer bottles that were littering the outside of their complex into a gorgeous temple now known as Wat Lan Kuad, or Temple of a Million Bottles. It actually took more than a million bottles to complete, and some walls feature intricate mosaics made from the bottle caps.

Then, drunk on the sight of their amazing feat (if not the beer fumes), the monks took it to the next level and started constructing more buildings in the complex out of bottles, including the bathrooms and crematorium. I know. I can't think of a better way to leave this world either. So let this be a lesson to you: Never compete with a monk, even when it comes to alcohol.

So Bad It's ... Good? - The Museum of Bad Art

Credit: IronHide

Art can be very subjective, but at the Museum of Bad Art (MoBA) in Boston, the curators believe they've discovered pieces that can universally be labeled as "bad." Exhibit A: "Sunday on the Pot with George," Artist Unknown, a pointillist painting that depicts a middle-aged man sitting regally on a toilet in his tighty whities.

But even mediocre masterpieces can be judged using rigorous standards, and nine out of 10 submitted pieces are rejected for displaying too much artistic competence. What the museum is looking for are works that feature "wonky perspective, confusing symbolism and lurid color combinations." In other words, that painting you did while sloshed during Paint Nite last week.

A Fort Worth Holding Down - Chittorgarh

Credit: Travlang.com

During my travels I’ve been to many a fort, and have found most of them to be stark, formidable and dusty. Chittorgarh Fort in India, however, is changing my whole outlook on these typically austere structures. As forts go, this one is pretty classy and even features a stunning moat. Sign me up for a fortnight! (Snicker.)

There’s some pretty impressive history here as well. Built by Maurya rulers in the 600s AD, the fort spans 700 acres and was the site of three major battles. It was occupied by the Rajputs, who protected Chittorgarh fiercely and never surrendered it to enemy invaders. I don’t blame them. If I were living in such a beautiful place, I’d fight to the death before giving it up, too. Or so I’d like to think. 

You Should Be in Pictures - Trickeye Museum

If you've ever viewed the works of art at a museum and thought to yourself, "They're nice and all, but these paintings would be better if I were in them," then (a) you're crazy narcissistic, and (b) I know exactly where you need to go. The Trickeye Museum in Seoul, Korea, is full of trompe l'oeil artwork that you can insert yourself into. Clean up Van Gogh's "Bedroom." Pull down the pants on the guy in Munch's "The Scream." Give the Mona Lisa a sip of water through those pursed lips.

It's ridiculous, cheesy fun, and it might even inspire you to view artwork differently. Okay, it won't, but you'll at least get a laugh out of this place, and a few good selfies. I know. I'm signing up for an annual membership, too.

Holy Tigers, Batman! - Tiger Temple

Zoos are neat and everything, but the animals are always so annoyingly out of reach. Tigers, for example, are always behind two sets of bars, a low wall, and a moat. What's the worst that might happen if we were allowed to pet the tigers a little? Besides an imminent and gruesome death, I mean.

Well, it turns out that maybe death is not imminent after all. At Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, visitors are allowed to hang out with free-roaming tigers that were brought to the sanctuary to be raised by Buddhist monks. Are these tigers drugged? Beaten? Cat-shamed? Nope, none of the above - in fact, a recent raid by the concerned Thai government revealed that the tigers are actually perfectly content. They don't attack their visitors simply because they're well-fed and well-adjusted. Of course, my house cat is also well-fed and well-adjusted, and he's attacking my ankles for seemingly no reason as I type this, so visit at your own risk.

Don't Eat a Big Breakfast Before Visiting - Mütter Museum

Credit: Mütter Museum

What's that? You're wondering where you can go this weekend to view some brains and skulls? Of course you are. The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia is billed as a museum of medical history, and it has on display numerous anatomical goodies, including pieces of Albert Einstein's brain, the conjoined livers of conjoined twins, John Wilkes Booth's thoracic tissue (not sure why they decided to collect that particular body part, but okay), and the pièce de résistance, a 139-piece skull collection. For those who are squeamish about viewing real pieces of anatomy, there are exhibits of medical equipment as well, including a delightful display of an actual Civil War amputation kit.

This museum is not for the faint of stomach or, well, most people. In fact, there's a very good chance you might be heebee-jeebee'd to death. But c'mon - Einstein's brain is on display here. How cool is that? You might even get smarter just by looking at it.*

* You won't get smarter by looking at Albert Einstein's brain.

And You Thought Your House Needed Work - Upside-Down House

Credit: WonderfulEngineering.com

So here's a trend I never saw coming: upside-down houses. This one, on display at the Tierpark Zoo in Gettorf, Germany, is the the latest in a series of topsy-turvy abodes to be built around the world; some are exhibits open to the public, while others are actual personal dwellings. The interior of these houses are upside-down as well, so the furniture is bolted down (up?) and visitors are required to walk on the "ceilings."

Come to think of it, why live in a boring old right-side-up house when you can live the inverted life? You'd never have to deal with a leaky roof. If a burglar breaks in, he won't be able to steal anything because all the furniture would be stuck to the floor ... er, ceiling. And he'd be very confused. Plus, your neighbors will leave you alone because you're obviously cray cray. Win-win-win. Never has anything made so much sense to me. Excuse me while I go check my local real-estate listings.

World's Cutest History Lesson - The Teddy Bear Museum

When was the last time you had a history lesson taught to you by a teddy bear? If your answer is "never," then you'd better get your unfortunate butt down to the nearest airport and hop on a plane to Seoul, Korea, which boasts the world's cuddliest attraction, the Teddy Bear Museum. Visitors are treated to endearing exhibits of teddy bears reenacting pivotal points of Korean history, as well as famous scenes from around the world, such as Da Vinci's "The Last Supper." It is seriously as charming as it sounds.

And just when you thought teddy bears couldn't get any cuter, the museum features the world's smallest teddy bear, at 4.5 millimeters. Go. Just go. But don't blame me if you are, in fact, adorabled beyond recognition.

No Mousetraps Allowed - Karni Mata Temple

Now here's a real game changer. You know how when you see a rat, your instinct is to grab your hair, scream, and run in the opposite direction? Well, at Karni Mata temple in Deshnoke, India, which is inhabited by approximately 20,000 rats, your goal is to get one of the little critters to scamper over your feet for good luck. These rats ain't vermin - they're reincarnated locals. So put the glue traps away and show some respect.

Plates of milk and sweets are left out to attract the mice to visitors. I'm a big-time animal lover, but I'm not sure I'd be able to handle this place. My cat, on the other hand, probably dreams about visiting Karni Mata the way I do the Taj Mahal.

A New Kind of Water Park - Underwater Sculpture Park

Let's face it: Art is too easy to access nowadays. You just pay a fee at the museum entrance and in you go. Well, here's an artist who decided to make you work a little to view his pieces. Jason de Caires Taylor created an underwater sculpture park in the Moliniere Bay off the coast of Grenada. The pieces sit in the bay and can only be accessed by divers, or viewed from above by snorkelers and glass-bottom boat riders.

The statues and other sculpted pieces are eerily beautiful, like perfectly preserved beings from a shipwreck. There's a circle of children, a man at his desk, and other timeless favorites. But you'd better hurry if you want to go; the water sets the mood and provides interesting light, but it's also slowly destroying each piece. I want to go because I can't remember the last time I took in an art installation in a swimsuit.

There's Even a Moat - Wing's Castle

So where would you say this place is? England? Scotland? Try UPSTATE NEW YORK. The owners of a property in Millbrook decided a couple of decades ago that they would build themselves a castle to live in, complete with a moat that doubles as a swimming pool. They call it Wing's Castle.

Mr. Wing built the entire castle by himself, and continues to add to it today, while Mrs. Wing gives tours of their home on weekends. For me, the bathroom was the best room - it's situated in one of the turrets and looks every bit like I'd imagine a bathroom would in a castle. But instead of a chamber pot, there's an actual toilet. Guess there are some modern amenities that are too wonderful to pass up.

Blog From the Crypt - Capuchin Catacombs

This probably happened to you after your last vacation because it certainly happened to me: I returned home and thought, "I didn't see enough corpses on that trip." If you've been irked by the same realization, spend your next vacation in Palermo, Sicily, where the Capuchin Catacombs are located.

For a mere 1.5 euros you are permitted to descend into an underground labyrinth of dead bodies, the oldest of which was entombed in 1599. Most resemble the Crypt Keeper - skeletons with stubbornly clinging tufts of hair and disintegrating clothes, but some of the newer bodies were preserved using a secret embalming method and remain remarkably intact. The pièce de résistance is the perfectly preserved body of a 2-year-old girl who died in 1920. Now why would you buy a gelato when you could put that money toward visiting this attraction TWICE?

Hey, a Giant Uvula - Corpus Museum

If you find the words "giant uvula" stimulating and you don't even know what it means, you belong at Corpus, near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It's a 115-foot museum shaped like a sitting man. Again: THE BUILDING IS SHAPED LIKE A PERSON. I know. I'm running out to get a lifetime membership today.

And as if that weren't enough, the entire inside of the building is the guy's anatomy. You enter through a wound in his leg and travel upwards, viewing things like cheese getting digested and synapses getting fired in the brain. Oh, and the man burps when you jump on his tongue. I know. Make that the gold club lifetime membership. 

The Fine Art of Making Instant Noodles - Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum

The last workshop you attended was probably on how to become a successful blogger, or some equally useless subject. If you want to receive a real life lesson, head over to Osaka, Japan, where they're offering chicken ramen-making workshops at the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum. That's right, you learn how to make your own ramen, and I'm not talking about boiling up some water and dumping it over dehydrated noodles. I mean from scratch, starting with flour and water!

What's more, they make you put on a chicken-themed doo-rag while you knead the dough, run it through a noodle-maker, and draw your own design onto the wrapper. (I repeat: You wear a CHICKEN-THEMED DOO-RAG.) Next, a workshop attendant deep-fries your creation to preserve it and seals it into the bag you designed. Then you get to bring your ramen home and eat it on a day when you're super hungry but too drunk to cook and too poor to order in. How is it that you haven't yet placed a long-distance phone call to Osaka to reserve a spot at this workshop?