The Museum Effect

How to Turn Everyday Objects into Remarkable Treasures

Dear Unlearners,

Put a coffee cup in your kitchen, it's just a coffee cup.

Put the same cup in a museum, suddenly it's art.

Put it behind glass, it's an artifact.

Put it in a gift shop, it's merchandise.

Same cup.

We call this the museum effect.

It's not about the object. It's about the frame.

A plastic spoon from 1952 is trash in your drawer.

The same spoon …