Museum of Failure brings failed products to Los Angeles

Dec. 7 (UPI) — A pop-up museum kicking off its U.S. tour in Los Angeles is dedicated to failed products, including a Donald Trump board game and the DeLorean DMC-12.

The Museum of Failure, conceived by Sweden-based clinical psychologist Samuel West, is visiting the United States for the first time with a stay at Los Angeles’ A+D Architecture and Design Museum until Feb. 4.

West, who specializes in workplace innovation, said his celebration of failure launched to sold-out crowds in Sweden.

“It’s hilarious to think of the Museum of Failure as a success,” West told the Los Angeles Times. “I didn’t expect it. I was, and still am, shocked that I’m opening my little museum in Los Angeles. It’s surreal. It’s a nerdy exhibit — a collection of innovation failures — and I’m still getting used to the fact that people are interested in it.”

West said the “Failure” moniker isn’t meant to be an insult to the more than 100 products found within.

“These are funny and stupid things,” West told the Los Angeles Daily News. “Obviously, we can laugh at them, but I want people to leave not being so fearful of [expletive] up.”

The exhibit includes famous failures such as the DeLorean DMC-12, the Apple Newton MessagePad and coffee-flavored Coca-Cola BlaK.

The museum also features lesser-known commercial flops, including I’m Back and You’re Fired! Trump, the Game; Colgate-brand frozen dinners; Volvo’s all-plastic Itera bicycle; and WiFi-enabled juicer Juicerio.

The museum also includes a “Failure Confession Booth” where visitors can anonymously post their own failures for others to see.

“We created a place where you go in and confess your failures anonymously in the booth,” West said. “And then you post it for everyone to view. It’s fun and liberating to see all these big, multinational companies fail and also, alongside, that people can also fail — in small ways, big ways, personal ways, sad ways. You realize it’s not so horrible to fail. We shouldn’t be afraid of it. We should be more open to discussing our own failure.”