Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi Brainstuff Lauren Vogelbaum here with a classic brain Stuff episode with shutdowns to help protect against the spread of COVID nineteen. Lots of museums have gone online only, and that includes one outpost of the subject of today's episode, The Museum
of Broken Relationships. Hey, brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum Here. If a relationship is like a shark that must constantly move forward or die, then what the Museum of Broken Relationships has on its hands is a lot of dead sharks and are shards because romantic or not, when any cherished relationship hits the skids, it can blow your heart to Smithereens with heart shards in mind and an eye toward healing and purposeful change, the Museum of Broken Relationships is
an innovative resource for helping people seek solace, let go, and move on. Curated from once valued possessions that xs of every ilk can't stand to keep around anymore, yet can't bear to throw away, the museum provides a space to showcase the flotsam of flouted vows and forsaken promises
and the sad souvenirs of subterfuge. Anonymous and sometimes gut wrenching personal stories presented alongside their related objects provide context im viewing these ordinary items, like say, a pair of converse sneakers, a latch key, or a wisp of hair
with universal meaning. Raw and unedited personal artifacts selected from hundreds of warehoused and ever incoming donations from love lorn people around the world comprise the installations at the award winning avant Garde Museum located in Zagreb, Croatia, plus in an international traveling exhibition, and at the museum in Los Angeles, California, which, while they scout a new brick and mortar location, is
alive and well online. A poignant smattering of samples includes a jar of spicy Amish pickles purchase by a young woman for her first love. He stopped returning her texts within the span of their two months together, and she never had a chance to give him the pickles. A Peter Pan plush toy bought by a twenty five year old man to remind himself to keep the boy inside alive now fifty, His placard caption reads, the boy is
lost to me. An ex wife's non traditional whispy silk wedding dress crammed into no kidding, a pickle jar after her husband got the seven year itch and split, a magnifying glass left by a woman as a reminder to a self absorbed lover that she had always felt small, and a small bottle filled with tears. Be they ordinary, extraordinary, or even downright bazaar, the objects alone are just bloodless chatch keys without the stories that bring them to life.
The museum f a Q section invites contributors to write their personal confessions to be frank, withdrawn, furious, imaginative, witty, or sad. Your story creates the museum display. They say, your story is your stage. Anyone with strong feelings about t m I etiquette may find the museum's theme to be more pure exhibitionism than art. Conversely, reality show loving bowyers may see it as another delicious way to access
misery on demand. For as long as humans have had sad hearts, there has been love lost and unrequited, And for as long as there's been love, there's been heartbreak and pain. But perhaps the real takeaway from seeing brokenness on display is to note that it's in the liminal space between love and loss that we find our shared
humanity and discover our capacity for empathy. Today's episode is based on the article Museum of Broken Relationships Houses Heartache on House to Works dot com, written by Carrie Tatrow. If you don't happen to be in Croatia to visit the museum in person, go to broken Ships dot com to see some of its exhibits. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot com and is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts
from my heart Radio. Visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.