The Swedish Saga, Volume 2:  Too Big to Fail?…Or Not.

Hi there!  Welcome back to the land of meatballs…and the infamous furniture giant, Ikea.  We probably eat more meatballs than they do.  A friend of mine sent me this article a couple of months ago about “Tiny Mouse Shops” in Sweden.  Read about them here.  It’s actually kind of interesting.  Essentially, a group of artists created these little shops, restaurants, etc. that mimic actual places and put them around town here in Malmö.  Mouse art.  Mouse art. Yeah…I thought the same thing.  If you check out all of the pictures though…they actually look pretty cool. Yep…Pretty easily amused. We read that a couple of them were vandalized and had to be taken down…but allegedly…the miniature version of Tivoli, an amusement park in Copenhagen, was still up.  They didn’t give a specific address, but they mentioned what street it was located.  Sooooo….what did I do?….I drug The Swede out yesterday on a mouse theme park hunt.  Mouse Hunting on vacation….Who needs the beach?

Did I mention how long this street was?  Looonnnnng.  We walked up down…side to side…and no Miniature Tivoli was to be found. Epic Fail. I haven’t given up yet though. There are still a couple more places I want to look before I throw in the towel.  I feel so invested. Feeling defeated…we capped off the afternoon with a stroll downtown for fika.  Downtown is one of my favorite places to go in Malmö.  Cobble stone streets…shops every where…great places to have coffee, lunch, dinner, or catch a happy hour special.  What more can you ask for?  I took some random snapshots along the way….(Remember…you can click on the smaller pics to make them bigger…and hover over them to read the captions.)

Another friend of mine told me about this museum that I had to check out when I was in Sweden.  It was set to open on June 7, right in time for my arrival.  The Museum of Failure.  Whaaaaaat?!  Sounds amazing. It’s located in Helsingborg about 45 minutes or so away from Malmö.  A city I have never been to…and a museum full of epic fails?  Yes…and YES.  The Swede and I headed out and swooped his brother up along the way.  Swede #2?  I’m not sure what my expectations were.  It is brand new….and it is a museum.  Hit or miss.   It did have great reviews….all 9 of them.  So yeah…why not.

The museum features 70+ different products and services that “failed”.  They remind you that failure is an end result that differs from the desired result.  That plays a part.  Not every product was a bust.  Here are some to name a few…

Kodak:  Was it once successful?  Yes! It went bankrupt due to not wanting to embrace the digital camera.  They actually came out with one of the first digital cameras (if I remember correctly) but didn’t want to let anyone know about it.  They were afraid that they would lose too much money on photo processing. Who has time for that? #fail

Blockbuster:  It was big success for 25 years.  It went bankrupt in 2010 due to not embracing movie streaming.  A good majority of their revenue came from late fees…and they didn’t want to miss out on that.  Insert Netflix.  Genius. #WeChoseToFail

A few more to name:  Olestra (found in the fat free chips)-Had that lovely anal leakage side effect (from what I read of course🤓); McDonald’s Arch Deluxe Burger-Cost the company $300 million…the most expensive failure in the fast food industry. (What they really need to add here is the McRib. They served something very similar in my elementary school cafeteria.); The Titanic-Well….we all know this story.  If you don’t…that is a fail in itself. The Amazon Fire Phone–(Yeah…You didn’t know about it because it didn’t last long.) The Microsoft Zune-I’m going to guess that most of you have never heard of this either.  This was Microsoft’s version of the iPod.  My my aunt actually has one.  And loves it.  Of course she does.  Southern bell living in Ohio.  It gets the best of her sometimes.  The DeLorean, Trump:  The Game (failed twice), the Segway (actually an interesting read)…and many more.

A great added touch to the museum was this wall when you walk in where people write their own failures.  I didn’t add any of mine because we didn’t have enough time, but here are a few…

Would I recommend it?  Sure.  It was interesting, educational, and somewhat entertaining.  Here are a few things I would add to the Failure List:

1. The 3D Smart TV that I own at home.  Sure…the TV is good.  But the 3D part…How often do you see 3D movies out and about?  Look on Netflix, Amazon Streaming, etc…and tell me how many 3D movies you see.  We have glasses for it and all…but never get to use that feature.  Money wasted.  #Fail
2. MySpace.  If you are asking what it is…I have proven my point. Facebook: 1, MySpace: ???
3. Gingerbread and Pumpkin Spice M&Ms.  Both nasty.  Both waste of calories.  Neither really taste like their allotted flavors.  Mars…you have failed me. Big time. 

What are some things you would add to the list of failures?  Comment and let me know!!

Tomorrow I will be going to my 2nd Swedish wedding.  Typically…you don’t get to sit by your significant other.  You are placed by random people in order for you to get to know other people.  Good concept I suppose…if you all speak the same language.  Who will be the lucky, poor unfortunate soul that gets to be my new friend?  #idontspeakswedish #itgetsawkward

Stay tuned!

Side Notes:

• As I normally think the sound of birds chirping and singing through the window is the sound of one of God’s many blessings…I despise it at 3:00 in the a.m.                Dear Swedish sun…why do you have to blare in my window with full force at 3:30 a.m. every. single. morning.? It’s rude…it’s tacky…and just plain uncouth. Jet lag has gotten the best of my sleep already. You’re going to be the final straw to my sleep-deprived break down. 
• Things I have learned in the last couple of days:
  1. Don’t wear a long kimono while riding a bike. (Unless you want to be thrown forward off your bike when it gets caught in the chain.)  2. Don’t ride a bike with your mouth open. (Unless you like crunchy surprises.)  3. Waving to a car while running in front of it doesn’t mean they are going to stop.  Hey…at least I was friendly about it.
• Hey Kroger….Let’s change things up a bit.
  
• Jean Capris.  Like jorts…but longer.  Do we call these….Japris?!  #mancapris  I’m going to get some for Gaylon. 💁🏼‍♂️  I love jorts.
  

Big Hugs.  Lots of Love.

P.M.T.