This Quirky TN Museum Is ‘Peppered’ With Lots of ‘Salty’ Exhibits

Suppose I asked you to think of an unusual theme for an entire museum. First, I'll toss you a few I know off the top of my head. They may not be quirky, per se, but they ARE singularly focused.

In Kentucky, you can head to Paducah and feel all warm and fuzzy on the OUTSIDE at the National Quilt Museum.

The Bluegrass State is also home to a fascinating if a bit creepy ventriloquism museum. You guessed it...more ventriloquist's dummies than you can shake a stick at.

There's even a museum for Cup Noodles. (I seriously want to go.)

And yes, I could go on and on, but then I'd never get around to the discussion at hand--salt & pepper shakers. If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'. There is a museum chock full of thousands of unique salt & pepper shakers. And it's a visit you could fold right into your next trip to Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains:

It's funny. Just the other day, my sister sent me a picture of a pair of Lucy & Ethel shakers she found at a thrift store. I wonder if another set might pop up at this museum.

If so, this set would not be one of THOUSANDS, as I said previously. No, it would be one of more than 20,000 shakers at this unique Gatlinburg museum:

And I doubt we've seen them all from those two presentations. That means the ball's in your court during your next East Tennessee vacation. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville seldom leave tourists much time to "add on", but maybe your stay will be an extended one and you can step into a bizarre, but clearly fun, an environment where you'll be surrounded by unusual tableware.

See? That description is all I would need.