Leila's Hair Museum, Independence

There, Leila Cohoon preserves and furthers the art form of hair-based crafts, which stretches back to the 1700s and beyond. In pre-photography days, Victorian artisans would create jewelry and decorative pieces with human hair as a means of remembering loved ones. In addition to these personal mementoes, Leila's collection includes 600 hair-based wreaths dating before 1900, and numerous reliquaries said to contain the hair of Mary, mother of Jesus, St. Anne, grandmother of Jesus, and pieces of the cross, all with their appropriate wax seals. Hair pieces belonging to Michael Jackson, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Lincoln, and other presidents also reside here. Although not hair-related, the museum also features a brooch that is said to contain threads from the coat of Joseph, father of Jesus. The quirky museum has attracted the attention of raconteurs from CNN as well as noted gadabout Anthony Bourdain, who also paid a visit during an episode of his show No Reservations.