Snoring Museum

The Schnarch Museum in Alfeld, a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany, is utterly devoted to snoring (schnarch is German for snoring) and the various methods used to combat snoring throughout history. Physician and researcher Dr Joseph Alexander Wirth collected a range of snoring remedies and kept them in his basement. The collector later decided to share them with the public by opening the Museum of Snoring. Now the museum boasts some 400 snoring remedies and devices.

Examples include an “ear suppository” which is placed into the ear to prevent the snorer turning onto his side. There is a display case showing prosthetic devices for the oral cavity, which are designed to pull the jaw forward by force. There are nasal pins designed to stretch the nostrils, thereby allowing the snorer more oxygen. There is also a 100 year old “anti-snoring mask” with leather straps that wrapped around the chin so that the mouth remained closed. One of the more barbaric therapies is a device that delivers electric shocks when you snore. On a lighter note, there is a whole collection of stories and caricatures devoted to snoring, as well as various dolls and fabric animals that snore when squeezed.