Madison Museum of Bathroom Tissue

MMBT exterior.

The Madison Museum of Bathroom Tissue was established in 1992 and closed in 2000. The museum was founded by Carol Kolb[1] in Madison, Wisconsin in a second-floor apartment, three blocks from the Wisconsin State Capitol.[2][3][4][5]

At its peak, the MMBT's permanent collection contained approximately 3,000 rolls of toilet paper.[6] The toilet paper's origins ranged from the bathrooms of other museums, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim, to American tourist destinations like Wall Drug and Graceland. The museum also had European, African, Australian, Canadian, and Mexican toilet paper as well as a collection of toilet paper from bars and restaurants located in Madison. The Manufacturers' Wing contained a collection of retail samples donated by toilet paper manufacturers, many with headquarters in Wisconsin's Fox River Valley paper-producing area.

MMBT exhibit.

The museum closed its doors in December 2000 when the remaining live-in staff vacated the address to move away from Madison. The collection currently resides in Elgin, Illinois and is kept in storage by new owners Caleb and Tracy Hanson.[7] In 2008, the building that had housed the museum was razed.[2]

  1. ^ Mike Sacks (24 June 2014). Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Today's Top Comedy Writers. Penguin Publishing Group. pp. 134–. ISBN 978-1-101-61327-6.
  2. ^ a b Moe, Doug (September 16, 2008). "FORMER HOME OF T.P. COLLECTION RAZED". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  3. ^ McCann, Dennis. "Madison museum flush with souvenirs". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 3, 1996.
  4. ^ Sefton, Dru (May 13, 1998). "Middle America Has Its Share Of Odd Museums". Chicago Tribune. Knight-Ridder/Tribune CHICAGO TRIBUNE.
  5. ^ Jerome Pohlen (2013). Oddball Wisconsin: A Guide to 400 Really Strange Places. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-61374-666-0.
  6. ^ "Weird museums keep odd pieces of history alive across America". The Hartford Courant. April 27, 1998. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  7. ^ Mike Nichols. "Wisconsin's rich toilet paper legacy is threatened". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 6, 2009.