The Creepiest Artifacts in Museums Around the World

Gout Hands

These jarred hands were kept by medical scientists in order to study the effects of gout on a person. The bulbous knuckles were not post-mortem, but from gout that the person suffered from before they died. Gout was very common in the 19th century. 

Netsuke

This is actually a very small ornament, known as a "netsuke," that is just over one-and-a-half- inches tall. It was mainly used in 19th century Japan to hold a small box onto the obi sash of a kimono. No, it's not carved from human bones. 

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The More You Know

  • The Judas Cradle was a means of torture where the victim was forced to sit on a spike.
  • The “sleepwalking defense” has been used in order to have defendants acquitted for murder.
  • People used hollowed human skulls as bowls and cups back in ancient England.
  • Horned lizards can shoot blood from their eyes.
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Post originally appeared on Upbeat News.