Visitors to Ohio can see “Old Sparkyâ€
The Ohio Historical Center in Columbus, Ohio, displays more than 22,000 domestic implements and 2,500 pieces of furniture but its “Pieces You Don’t Normally See” is sure to be a lure for visitors.
For one thing, it’s R-rated. No one allowed under 17 without a parent.
The objects on display starting April 1 have no explanation, but they feature things most people will never see such as an electric chair, a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood, a sheepskin condom, a crib-bed cage that restrained patients at a state mental hospital and a thumb mitt once used to prevent children from sucking their thumbs.
“Objects are not controversial—they are neutral,” said Sharon E. Dean, director of Museum and Library Services, and one of the senior staff at Ohio Historical Society who helped envision the exhibit.
Traditionally, history museums have used objects to explain a great deal about historical subjects from a scholarly point of view. For this exhibit, rather than explain their significance, the Ohio Historical Society felt it was important to allow these objects to stand on their own, according to Dean.
The electric chair has probably gotten the most attention. “Old Sparky” was last used for an execution in 1963, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
By David Wilkening
David
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