Another couple of tourists wander into Tom Richards’s Faux Museum and peruse the gift shop. They take in the collections of vintage books and postcards, the spinning prize wheel, the bright colors, and the jauntily angled visitor testimonials on the walls. After a minute or two, Tom tells them that there’s a museum back behind the partition. “A critical thinking museum with a sense of humor.”
“We just came from a museum,” one says.
“Oh yeah? Which museum?”
“The Portland Art Museum.”
“Never heard of it,” Tom says. “But this is the oldest museum in the world.”