1

Neon Museum - Las Vegas, Nevada

Image: 李林Alwen

Let’s kick off this list with the Neon Museum in Las Vegas. The location seems just about right since Las Vegas is always bright and shining with luminous signs.

This museum, founded in 1996, holds a collection of over 250 historic signs from the city. It is located a few blocks away from the iconic Las Vegas Strip and exhibitions and projections display signs that once adorned the venue. Moreover, you will be able to see some paradigmatic signs restored like the Silver Slipper and Benny Binion’s Horseshoe.

2

International Spy Museum - Washington, D.C.

Image: Marten Newhall

Haven’t we all dreamed of becoming an international secret spy? Well, you can make your dream come true, at least for a few hours, at the International Spy Museum in Washington.

This museum was established in 2002 and it features the largest collection of international espionage artifacts ever displayed. From spy gadgets and concealed weapons to covert operations and famous espionage cases, you’ll get inside the life of a true spy.

Furthermore, it is an interactive museum so visitors can test their own skills with the experiences offered within the establishment.

3

National Mustard Museum - Middleton, Wisconsin

Image: Simona Sergi

Mustard is so much more than just a condiment, and if you think it is not, the National Mustard Museum is here to challenge that notion.

Founded in 1992 by Barry Levenson, this quirky museum celebrates all things mustard with the world’s largest collection of mustards and mustard memorabilia. It showcases over 6000 mustards from over 70 countries and visitors can learn about the mustard history and take a look at antique elements like tins, mustard pots, vintage signs, and advertisements.

If you are a foodie or a culinary curious, you can’t miss this museum!

4

Idaho Potato Museum - Blackfoot, Idaho

Image: Lars Blankers

Idaho’s love and pride for potatoes is so big, that they had to build a museum to display it and they are waiting for you!

The Idaho Potato Museum is a spud-tacular tribute to the beloved potato, fittingly located in the "potato capital of the world." Housed in the former Oregon Short Line Railroad Depot, this space of over 5,500 square feet offers exhibits on the history, cultivation, and nutritional value of the humble tuber.

Highlights include one of the world’s largest collections of potato mashers and the biggest potato crips ever made. Visitors can even perform experiments in the Potato Lab and savor a freshly baked potato in the museum’s cafe.

5

International UFO Museum and Research Center - Roswell, New Mexico

Image: Danie Franco

UFOs have always raised curiosity and the theories behind sightings and paranormal activities are one too many, right? Or at least enough to create a museum devoted to exhibiting all things UFOs.

The International UFO Museum and Research Center offers an intriguing exploration into the world of UFOs, and it is housed in a former movie theater. The creation of the museum was inspired by the Rosewell incident in 1947, a crash of a flying saucer, and it presents a variety of written, audio, and visual materials.

This museum is pet friendly and visitors can enjoy exhibits like a spinning UFO with aliens and an outdoor "Rosewell Belevies" mural. When are you paying a visit?

6

National Museum of Funeral History - Houston, Texas

Image: panyawat auitpol

There’s no denying it, we are going to die eventually. However, is death enough of an intriguing topic to open a museum devoted to it? Apparently, it is, and you can find one in Houston.

The National Museum of Funeral History houses the country’s largest collection of funeral service items, including caskets, coffins, and hearses.

The museum is over 30,000 feet and it features 19 permanent exhibits covering topics that range from embalming to the history of cremation and mourning photography. To make it even more interesting, the museum offers a unique look at funeral traditions and culture from ancient Egypt to modern times around the world.

7

Museum of Bad Art - Somerville, Massachusetts

Image: Rainer Bleek

Even if art is not for everyone, we can all agree there are standards for what is considered good or bad, right? Well, The Museum of Bad Art is here to prove us wrong!

Located in Somerville, the Museum of Bad Art is a delightful celebration of artistic mishaps and quirky creativity. What began in 1993 in a Boston basement has now expanded to the Somerville Theater’s basement in Davis Square.

This unique museum boasts over 700 pieces from artists, amateurs, and anonymous creators, featuring donations, thrift store finds, and gifts from the artists themselves. Despite its impressive collection, only about 25 works are displayed at a time , ensuring a fresh experience with each visit. Best of all, it’s free! For a fun and offbeat adventure, this is the place you need to visit!

8

National Bottle Museum - Ballston Spa, New York

Image: James Cousins

Here’s a museum you never thought would exist! But considering bottles are part of our everyday life, have you ever stopped and thought about how bottles are made? Wonder no more, better visit the museum!

The National Bottle Museum is a charming three-story brick building and it showcases over 3,000 bottles on its first floor alone! With seven permanent exhibits, you can marvel at pre-machine-made bottles from every state and even see glowing uranium glass!

Don’t miss the quirky temporary exhibits that go from Coca-Cola bottles to shot glasses, and spa bottles! And, if you are a bottle collector yourself, you’ll love the extensive library available!

9

Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Image: Jonathan Borba

Teeth are the subject of contrarian opinions! Some love it, some find it disgusting. But that wasn’t enough of a reason to prevent Michigan from having a museum devoted to dentistry.

The Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry in Ann Arbor is a hidden gem tucked away in the atrium of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. It’s one of the few museums in the world dedicated entirely to dentistry!

With over 25,000 objects on display, you will find everything from antique dental tools to quirky historical products dating back to the 18th century. The museum also features fascinating temporary exhibits and engaging programs. Plus, admission is free, so you can enjoy this unique journey through dental history without spending a dime.

10

Museum of Jurassic Technology - Los Angeles, California

Image: Mauro Sbicego

You read that right, the words "Jurassic" and "technology" are part of the same name and they have nothing to do with Spielberg’s millionaire production.

The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles is an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Despite its name, there’s nothing particularly Jurassic about it. Instead, this delightfully bizarre museum leads you through dimly lit halls filled with curiosities, from mini models of Napoleon and Daffy Duck to oil portraits of Soviet space dogs.

It’s a wonderfully chaotic mix that keeps visitors scratching their heads and smiling. Perfect for those who love a good mystery, the museum’s quirky collection is as baffling as it is fascinating. Come ready to be amused and bewildered!

1

Oprah Winfrey

Image: Ilyass SEDDOUG

If it wasn't for a professor's advice, we might have never got to meet the incredible Oprah Winfrey!

After graduating with honors from high school, Oprah attended Tennessee State University to study Communication. During her college years, she already participated in several different radio shows. While in one of her classes, she received a call that changed her life: CBS Channel Five offered her a very important job. At first, Oprah said no, as her father always insisted that she complete her studies. Accepting the position would mean putting her education on hold, so it was a difficult choice for her.

Winfrey told the situation to her Scenic Design professor, who immediately encouraged her to take the job. "This is what you study for, to get a call from CBS!" he allegedly said.

2

Bill Gates

Image: Tadas Sar

Bill Gates' work, intelligence, and journey as an entrepreneur to become the famous co-founder of Microsoft are admirable. Maybe that's why many are surprised to learn that Gates dropped out of college.

He began his education at a private school in Seattle, Washington. It's said that he demonstrated high capacities in math and science. During the early years of his education, he came into contact with computers, awakening his passion at a young age.

When he was 18 years old, Gates enrolled at Harvard to pursue a degree in computer science. During his time there, he became interested in programming languages. In particular, he wanted to design one for the Altair 8800, an early personal computer developed by MITS. In 1975, Gates decided to leave Harvard to create BASIC, which later evolved into the well-known Microsoft, co-founded by Gates and Paul Allen.

3

Steve Jobs

Image: Sumudu Mohottige

A similar path to Gates was that of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Inc.

Jobs attended elementary and high school in Cupertino, California. In the 1970s, while he was still in high school, he met Steve Wozniak, an engineering student who would join him in creating Apple.

Jobs was said to have a free and rebellious nature. Perhaps it was that spirit that led him to leave Reed College in Portland, Oregon, after the first semester in order to have more time to pursue his true interests: technology and design.

Although he didn't pursue what we know as a formal education, Jobs educated himself in numerous fields in different parts of the world.

4

Mark Zuckerberg

Image: Deeksha Pahariya

Jobs and Gates aren't the only tech geniuses who decided to drop out of college to take another path. Mark Zuckerberg joins this list.

Zuckerberg already stood out during his elementary and high school years for his mathematics and computer science skills. But it was at Harvard University that he really explored his potential.

Mark Zuckerberg enrolled at Harvard in 2002 to study computer science and psychology. There, he developed a number of applications and platforms, but one gained him all the fame. We're talking about Facebook, one of the most famous social networks in the world today. Two years after entering the university, he left to fully dedicate himself to his company, which was growing in success every second.

5

Ellen DeGeneres

Image: Ioann-Mark Kuznietsov

Not all the names on this list belong to the tech world. There are also some other showbiz figures. One of them is Ellen DeGeneres, the unmistakable comedian, actress, and TV host who has won the hearts of many Americans.

Her comedy and acting talents shone during her high school years in Atlanta, Texas. After high school, Ellen enrolled at the University of New Orleans in 1976 to study communications. However, after a couple of months, she dropped out in order to concentrate on her entertainment career. During those years, she did comedy and stand-up shows, gaining fame first locally and then nationally, eventually having her first sitcom, "Ellen," and then her successful daytime talk show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

6

Steven Spielberg

Image: George Patient

Steven Spielberg is a talented and successful American film director whose name reached the ears of the whole world thanks to such classics as Jaws (1975), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), and many others.

In 1965, Spielberg enrolled at California State University Long Beach to pursue a career in film production. There, he started to work on many projects, and in 1968, he decided to drop out of college to pursue his passion.

In the 2000s, the famous director returned to college and completed his degree, presenting the iconic Schindler's List !

7

Brad Pitt

Image: César Guadarrama Cantú

The art of acting is truly admirable, and we can say, without a doubt, that the best actors and actresses in the world have a great mix of natural talent and hard work. A perfect example is Brad Pitt, who also has one more ingredient: his spectacular appearance.

After graduating from high school in 1982, Pitt enrolled at the University of Missouri to study Journalism and Advertising. There, he became interested in acting and participated in different creative and theatrical projects.

Two weeks before graduating, Pitt made the decision to quit college and move to California, where he would evolve as an actor into the world-renowned superstar he is today.

8

Larry Page

Image: Greg Bulla

Lansing, Michigan, was the birthplace of Larry Page, the co-founder of one of the world's largest technology companies. But before becoming the CEO of a huge corporation, Page also walked the halls of college, earning several degrees before his dropout.

Page earned a Bachelor of Science with a major in Computer Engineering with honors from the University of Michigan in 1995. He then enrolled at Stanford University, where he earned his Master's degree in 1998.

During his years at Stanford, he met Sergey Brin, with whom he would later co-found none other than Google! The success of their co-creation led Page to not complete his PhD, which he was pursuing during those years.

9

Ashton Kutcher

Image: Nathan Dumlao

When it comes to talented, hard-working, and handsome actors, Brad Pitt isn't the only one. Another one with all those attributes is Ashton Kutcher.

Kutcher is really smart. His hard work and intelligence led him to enroll at the University of Iowa in 1996, where he pursued a degree in biochemical engineering. But his student life was cut short when a talent agency discovered him.

In 1998, he decided to drop out of college to pursue his growing modeling and acting career. A few years ago, the actor famously declared, "I pursued something I was passionate about [...] So, that was the right decision for me."

10

Alicia Keys

Image: Soundtrap

Another artist on this list is none other than Alicia Keys, a major name in the entertainment world.

From a very young age, Alicia was encouraged to pursue her talent and artistic interests. She attended elementary and high schools specialized in arts, where she developed many of her musical talents.

After graduating from high school at 16, Keys was accepted into the Juilliard School in Manhattan, which is proof of her immense talent. However, the singer and songwriter decided to drop out of college a few months after being accepted in order to pursue her dreams as a singer. She signed her first record deal shortly after, and the rest is history!

1

Edna Foster and Edith Storey (1911)

Even just thirty years after his death, the figure of Billy the Kid was so legendary that films were already being produced based on his life. The first two, both silent shorts, date from 1911 and share an intriguing peculiarity: both star women.

Billy the Kid was directed by Laurence Trimble and is very loosely based on the life of the famous outlaw. It is, however, believed to be a lost film. Edith Storey , an American actress who had played male characters in films such as Oliver Twist , stars as "the Kid."

The Adventures of Billy , on the other hand, was directed by the great pioneer American motion-picture director D. W. Griffith. In this film, the role of Billy is played by American child actress Edna Foster.

2

Johnny Mack Brown (1930)

American college football player and film actor John Mack Brown was the first to play Billy the Kid in the talkies. He was directed by none other than the great film director and producer King Vidor in 1930's Billy the Kid . This film is a pre-Code Western and tells the story of Billy's escape after avenging his boss and the subsequent manhunt by Sheriff Pat Garret.

Johnny Mack Brown had started his career by appearing in a few minor films until he got his big break with this movie. Unfortunately, his career in mainstream cinema did not flourish, leading him to transition into low-budget Westerns. Eventually, he found significant success as a B-movie cowboy , becoming a beloved figure in the genre.

3

Jack Buetel (1943)

Jack Buetel was an inexperienced actor when tycoon Howard Hughes cast him in his next film, The Outlaw , in 1940. Buetel signed a seven-year contract after Hughes promised him that he would make him a star.

The film faced many difficulties. It wasn’t immediately approved due to its erotic scenes, and although it was officially released in 1943, it was not until 1946 that the public was able to finally see it. Produced during the golden age of the genre, The Outlaw is considered a psychological Western. However, it was not well received by the critics of the time, and Buetel's work was especially bashed. After this, Hughes refused to allow Buetel to participate in other films, and his career never really took off.

4

Paul Newman (1958)

Paul Newman is one of the most celebrated actors of the 20th century and is best known for his roles in several classic Westerns. But did you know that the first Western character Paul Newman portrayed was Billy the Kid? In the mid-1950s, Newman was cast to replace James Dean in The Left Handed Gun after Dean's untimely death. This was the beginning of a series of films about the Old West that the beloved American actor would play throughout his career.

Based on a teleplay by Gore Vidal and directed by Arthur Penn, The Left Handed Gun departs from the classic genre iconography to present the famous bandit much closer to the rebellious and tormented antiheroes of the era. Thus, in this film, the characters are complex and nuanced, questioning and revising the traditional portrayal of the savage outlaw.

5

Clu Gulager (1960 - 1962)

The first television series about Billy the Kid was The Tall Man , which aired on NBC from September 10, 1960, to September 1, 1962. Although we all know that the real story ends with Billy being killed by Pat Garrett, this light-hearted action series focuses on the duo's alleged happier days, when they had more of a father-and-son relationship.

Clu Gulager, born in Oklahoma and the son of a cowboy entertainer, plays Billy. Although he was already 32 years old when cast, the actor earned his well-deserved place in the role. After the success of this series, Gulager worked in other Westerns and later had a second career as a horror film actor. His last appearance on the big screen was in 2019, in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

6

Geoffrey Deuel (1970)

While this is not a film specifically about Billy the Kid's life, he does appear as a supporting character. Starring the legendary John Wayne, Chisum tells the story of the 1878 Lincoln County War, an Old West conflict between rival factions involving some famous gunslingers, including William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid.

In this film, Geoffrey Deuel plays Billy the Kid. Although he had already participated in some television series, Chisum was his debut on the big screen.

7

Kris Kristofferson (1973)

Kris Kristofferson is best known for his career as a country musician and his appearance in the 1976 version of A Star is Born alongside Barbra Streisand. But did you know he also portrayed Billy the Kid? In 1973, he was cast in the revisionist Western film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid , directed by Sam Peckinpah.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Kristofferson's involvement in this film is that he introduced Bob Dylan to the director. Dylan was initially hired to write the title song, but ended up composing the whole score and even played the role of "Alias." Among the songs Dylan wrote for the film was the iconic "Knockin' on Heaven's Door."

8

Val Kilmer (1989)

American writer Gore Vidal was not pleased with the adaptation of his teleplay for The Left Handed Gun , so he decided to produce his own version. The resulting TV movie premiered on TNT in May 1989, with Val Kilmer cast as Billy the Kid.

Kilmer's version of Billy the Kid is a bit friendlier than his predecessors. He was also the right age for the character, making Gore Vidal's Billy the Kid one of the most historically rigorous accounts of the outlaw's life.

After this film, Val Kilmer's career continued to grow, with standout roles in The Doors and Batman Forever . Billy the Kid wasn’t the only gunslinger he portrayed—Kilmer also famously played Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone .

9

Dane DeHaan (2019)

American actor Dane DeHaan portrays Billy the Kid in the 2019 film The Kid , alongside Ethan Hawke as lawman Pat Garrett. The physical resemblance between DeHaan—a younger Leonardo DiCaprio lookalike—and the real William H. Bonney is striking, making the Vincent D'Onofrio-directed film not only a fresh take but also one of the closest onscreen renditions of the mythical character.

In an interview, DeHaan said that he accepted the role because he thought it was a very interesting character to play. He also explained that he considered Billy the Kid a victim of the media and explained that the film aims to depict the harsh realities of the Wild West, where survival often drove people to desperate and terrible actions.

10

Tom Blyth (2022 - )

The most recent version of Billy the Kid is played by Tom Blyth, a 29-year-old English actor from Birmingham. Blyth plays the infamous outlaw in the television series Billy the Kid, which premiered on MGM+ in April 2022. Produced by Michael Hirst, the English producer behind hits like The Tudors and Vikings , the series was renewed for a third and final season in 2024.

To prepare for this character, Blyth didn't just read a ton of books about Billy's story; he felt the need to do something more tangible to get into the skin of the famous outlaw. He traveled to Arizona, rented a car, and began a 7-day pilgrimage around New Mexico visiting all the places William H. Bonney had once been. He even visited his grave! His intention was to make the character more palpable and real as opposed to this exaggerated image of the mythical character we are used to.